A Truth Best Left Unsaid
by Imagination94
Summary: Hermione Granger had always sought out knowledge and was keen to share it with others, but when she finds out something about herself that she'd rather not have known, Hermione decides that this is one truth best left unsaid.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione ran her eyes once again over the words she had read 20 times already. The thin pages creased as she gripped the notebook tightly in her shaking hands. Her mind was flooded with emotions. Primarily she was shocked, but she also felt angry and hurt, sad and confused, and now bubbling to the forefront of her mind was a deep sense of betrayal. Sat on a dusty box in the attic of her family home, Hermione realized that her parents had been lying to her for her whole life. She resented this most of all. She, Hermione Granger, had fought mountain trolls and three-headed dogs, faced basilisks and werewolves, she was even helping to defeat one of the most powerful and evil wizards of all time, but they didn't think her mature enough to know her own parentage; they didn't even trust her with the identity of her true father.

Hermione threw the book away from her in frustration. Part of her wished she had never made the discoveries she had made today; part of her longed for the ignorance she had possessed before she went looking for her second year charms textbook, but even with a time-turner you can't change what you know, and it wouldn't change the truth anyway. Hermione once again picked up the document which she had first discovered by accident and which initiated her search for answers. It was her parents' wedding certificate. Innocuous enough in itself, the papers correctly listed her parents' names as the bride and groom and then listed the witnesses, some of whom Hermione knew as friends of the family. It was only when her eyes strayed to the registered date that Hermione's brow furrowed in confusion. The day and month written were both correct as Hermione knew them to be, but the year was 1 whole year later than her parents had informed her it took place. And most significantly, if it took place 1 year later, then it took place after Hermione's birth.

This revelation in itself caused very little concern to Hermione. So she had been born out of wedlock? She wasn't bothered with such stuffy institutionalised rituals. Many people had children before getting married these days; it wasn't a big deal. So what Hermione really couldn't understand is why her parents had bothered to lie to her about it?

Of course being Hermione Granger, she could not accept such an alien emotion in her body. Confusion and misunderstanding made Hermione uncomfortable and she longed for the knowledge that would set her mind at rest. And so, as she had done so many times before with her closest friends Ron and Harry, she had set off in search of answers. This wasn't such a demanding task as those she had often faced at Hogwarts and she felt sure that a thorough search, constrained to the attic, through these abandoned boxes, would be sufficient to yield her the explanation she so desired. And, as was so often the case, Hermione was right. In less than 20 minutes she had found a promising looking notebook. While her second year at Hogwarts had soured the idea of reading a long-forgotten diary, a cursory inspection that revealed her mother's flowing script, had convinced Hermione that it was merely a normal Muggle artefact and was therefore unlikely to start wielding dark and dangerous magic.

The diary had belonged to Hermione's mother in the year leading up to her marriage. It gave a detailed account of her mother's year and soon Hermione began to read things that revealed an awful lot about herself as well. It soon became apparent that the man who Hermione had called Dad her whole life was not actually her father. And he knew it. Her mother's younger self had written about a one-off liaison with a man she had met in a quiet country pub, whilst hitch-hiking through Scotland. Hermione re-read the description of the man again. This was where things became really shocking. Hermione believed she knew the identity of her biological father. After all, how many tall, raven haired, magic baby producing men, who asked girls to call him Severus, could there be?

Hermione stood up abruptly. She'd had enough. She was tired of thinking it through and of thinking it over; tired of running through motives, possibilities and complications. She wanted out. Not just out of this attic, but out of this house. Away. Anywhere. As long as it was well away from here, she didn't care.

Hermione climbed down from the attic and flew into her bedroom, grabbing her trunk and filling it with everything she would need to survive for the remaining 3 weeks of the summer holidays and what she would need for going back to school. Casting a silencing charm over the hall, Hermione slipped downstairs and out the front door, leaving behind her nothing but a note which read:

_I had to leave for a while and you won't see me again before school starts. Don't worry about me, I'll stay safe._

_Love Hermione x_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Just want to say thanks to anyone who read the first chapter and was kind enough to come back and read the second. I just have a few things to mention. This is my first fanfiction so I'm keen for any advice or feedback you may have that will help me out. Also, I'm aiming for it to be about 18 chapters long, although this is subject to change. You can at least be assured that this fiction won't be abandoned. Finally, a quick thank you to the 'Guest' who was my first ever reviewer.**

**Happy reading!  
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Standing on Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Hermione heard her name being called through the billowing smoke of the Hogwarts Express.

"Hermione!" Turning, Hermione just saw a flash of red before she was wrapped in the surprisingly strong arms of a lanky, red-headed teenage boy.

"Ron, I can't breathe!" Hermione choked out, only half teasing.

"Sorry." Ron grinned, releasing her from his iron hold. Then his face became serious. "Hermione, where have you been? We haven't heard from you in weeks. Why didn't you come to stay at the Burrow?" He dropped his voice to avoid the curious ears of passers-by, "How come you didn't come to Sirius' place? You didn't even turn up for Harry's trial." He finished accusingly.

Hermione bristled. It wasn't as though she hadn't wanted to be there for Harry. She'd been worried sick about his trial ever since she found out about his use of magic against the dementors, but honestly, it wasn't as if she didn't have her own problems. Forcing herself to remain calm, she replied, "I am sorry I couldn't be there and that I haven't been in touch much, it's just I've been staying in London the last few weeks and things have been really busy." This was at least all true, if vague, and Hermione hoped it would be enough to satisfy Ron's curiosity at least until she could decide what to tell him. "Where's Harry?" She asked in an attempt to divert Ron from any further questions about her activities in the last few weeks. It worked.

"Oh he's on his way. He was just saying goodbye to…Padfoot."

"What?!" Hermione squeaked. "He's here? But that's so dangerous! So risky! What if someone realises it's him?"

"Relax, Hermione. Honestly, you're beginning to sound just like Mad Eye. Or worse…my mother." Ron grinned cheekily. Hermione hit him playfully on the arm in response just as a bespectacled boy with dark, untidy hair and a lightening shaped scar on his forehead reached them. Hermione scanned the boy appraisingly. He was tired she concluded. He had dark shadows beneath his eyes, as if his sleep was disturbed or if he weren't sleeping at all. He was also, as was always the case when he returned from the summer holidays, much skinnier than when she had left him at the end of the last school year. She would have thought that the time spent in the same residence as Mrs Weasley would have fattened him up a bit, but clearly his worry about the trial had left him with little appetite. As if he sensed her internal observations the boy squirmed uncomfortably for a few moments until he pulled her into a warm hug, saying, "Hermione, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. Where have you been?" Hermione quickly used the train whistle as an excuse and merely responded, "Come on, we need to get on. I'll tell you on the train."

Fortunately, Hermione and Ron's new roles as prefects meant that they were kept busy for the first part of the journey, learning about their new schedules and responsibilities. All the while, Hermione dreaded the moment when she would have to return to Harry and answer questions on her whereabouts this summer.

The inevitable came, as it always does, and Hermione was forced to return to Harry's carriage. As expected, the boys had not finished their interrogation of her summer activities and Hermione had to tell Harry much of what she had previously told Ron. She tried to keep it vague but truthful, and also made it seem as uninteresting as possible so that the conversation would soon turn to something less personal – like Quidditch. Hermione told them the truth about staying in London but at the same time managed to imply that her parents were with her. Surprisingly, for someone with such an inquisitive and, quite frankly, suspicious mind, Harry seemed just as satisfied as Ron by Hermione's story and, as conversation so often does when fuelled only by two 15 year old boys from the magical world, the conversation drifted on to Quidditch.

Hermione sighed in relief as the boys started discussing chaser tactics of the Chudley Cannons. She allowed her mind to drift away from the carriage and started thinking about what Hermione would have said if she could tell them the truth. The whole truth. She cast her mind back to the night she left home, when she had walked out the front door with nothing even close to a plan. Luckily, Hermione was a quick thinker. Knowing how conspicuous she looked with a massive trunk and knowing that her parents might find her note at any time, Hermione set off at a brisk pace down the pavement, putting as much distance between her and her home as possible. She started going over the possibilities in her mind. She knew she would be welcome at the Burrow, but the Weasleys would no doubt have a lot of questions if she turned up unexpectedly and if there was one thing Hermione was certain about, it was that she didn't want _anyone _to know what she had found out that day.

She wasn't exactly sure why she felt she couldn't tell anyone what had happened. There were obvious reasons, like the fact that she didn't want her private life to become the subject of gossip amongst the whole wizarding community. She also knew that if the Order of the Pheonix (a group she had heard much from Ron about over the summer) found out that she had run away from home, they would insist on her returning or, at the very least, going to stay with the Weasleys, and right now Hermione just wanted to be alone. Most of all, though, Hermione didn't want to tell anyone because she felt ashamed. She knew it was not a particularly rational response but it was her emotional response nonetheless. Hermione was ashamed that she, the brightest witch of her age, hadn't worked this out before. She was ashamed that her so-called parents hadn't respected her enough to tell her the truth. And, most of all, Hermione was ashamed that the man she believed to be her real father, who was supposed to love and care for her, had only ever despised and mocked her.

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**AN: Thank you for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello everyone! This chapter has the first bit of Hermione/ Severus interaction. It's a little longer than the last two and most of the chapters after this should remain at about this length. Anyway, Hermione gets a little tougher in this scene. Hope you like :)**

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Sat at the Gryffindor table, Hermione struggled to focus herself on the conversation surrounding her. Her fellow Gryffindors were currently finishing off second helpings of dessert whilst loudly debating why the ministry was sending teachers to Hogwarts and whether the sickeningly sweet voiced witch would actually be any good. Hermione had listened to Professor Umbridge with disgust, both at the undertones her words implied and at her obvious disrespect of Dumbledore. Nothing good could come of ministry interference at Hogwarts. Then again it wasn't as though Dumbledore had much luck with previous appointments of the Defence Against the Dark Arts position. Time would tell, Hermione supposed, besides, if she was a good teacher then it wouldn't really matter if the ministry had given her the job and if she was a bad teacher…well, they'd just have to hope the rumours about a curse on the post were true.

Hermione had allowed these thoughts to swill around her mind in an attempt to keep less pleasant thoughts at bay. She had decided that she would do her damnedest to forget about what she had learnt this summer and as such had not so much as glanced at the Head Table. This year she would avoid Snape as much as possible, she would keep her head down and forget about him. After all, who wanted to be the daughter of someone who openly despised her. Not many people could take that kind of rejection.

"Miss Granger." Her thoughts were disturbed by the voice of the very person she was trying to avoid directly behind her. She plastered on a fake smile and, attempting to blink back the tears that had arisen as a result of her previous thoughts, she turned around to face him.

"Yes, Professor Snape?"

Snape said nothing about her blatant attempt to compose her expression but one raised eyebrow showed that he had seen her welled up eyes before the tears were batted away by dark eyelashes. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you in his office in 15 minutes."

Hermione visibly cringed and inwardly swore. Of course her parents would have informed the school after she had left. Professor Dumbledore was probably the first people her parents would have contacted in a state of panic having read her note. They would know that muggle police would be unable to find a girl who could use magic if she didn't want to be found and would also falsely expect her to have run to one of her school friends. Having very few options of people to contact in the magical world, her parents would naturally have contacted the Headmaster of her magical school, a man who Hermione had told them was very influential in the magical world. Hermione had no doubt why Dumbledore wanted to see her and she desperately wanted to avoid it.

Clutching at straws Hermione replied to the waiting Professor Snape, "I'm sorry, Sir, but as a prefect I'm required to take the first years up to the Gryffindor common room."

Snape glared down at her with an icy expression. "You are _required_ in the Headmaster's office, Miss Granger, in 15 minutes."

Hermione huffed at his response. "Can I ask what this is about Professor?" She asked feigning innocence.

Snape smirked, "I would have thought a know-it-all such as yourself would at least be able to work that out."

Hermione struggled to retain her polite façade and practically growled out, "Was there anything else…Sir?" She belatedly added the reluctant term of respect.

Snape merely smirked at her obvious irritation and concluded with a, "Don't be late," before swooping out of The Great Hall, robes billowing behind him.

Hermione stared daggers at his back as he left and then turned back around to face the rather surprised faces of Ron and Harry who had been listening avidly to the whole encounter.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Ron asked with a mouth full of profiteroles. "I've never heard you speak to Snape like that before!"

"Well he's just a miserable git, isn't he?" Hermione responded, irritated that they had picked up on her less than subtle attitude towards Snape.

"Never mind that," Harry interrupted Ron's muffled agreements, "Why does Dumbledore want to see you?"

"How should I know?" Hermione snapped back, annoyed that Harry's insatiable curiosity had been sparked by Snape's inability to be discreet.

"Well Snape seemed to think you should know." Harry pressed.

"Have we not already established that Snape is a miserable git?" Hermione retorted, and with that she stormed from the Great Hall and headed towards the Headmaster's office.

Hermione wandered the halls knowing that she still had a bit of time and deciding how she would play this. She knew she probably wouldn't be in trouble; Dumbledore's idea of a stern telling off involved lemon drops and cuddles, but he would want to know where she had been and why she had run away. She could probably give them the gist of where she had spent the last few weeks but she certainly wouldn't be telling them how she recklessly wandered the streets of suburban London at night, vulnerable to attack from Death-eaters who had just reformed under the most evil wizard ever known and whose two purposes in life were to rid the world of muggleborns such as herself and to kill her best friend, before hopping on the Knight bus and heading into muggle London to stay at the cheapest B&B she could find. No, thought Hermione, she wouldn't divulge those particular details.

As she approached the Headmaster's office, she realised that Snape had failed to give her the password to Dumbledore's office but the gargoyle was obviously expecting her as it allowed her to ascend the stairs to the office door without her saying a word. Hermione took a deep breath and raised her fist to give two sharp knocks on the solid oak door. "Come in!" Hermione rolled her eyes at the familiarly chirpy voice of Professor Dumbledore, pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside.

On the other side of the door however, Hermione stopped. The office was occupied not just by Professor Dumbledore as she had expected, but also by Professor McGonagall and, much to her surprise and chagrin, Professor Snape. Hermione frowned, this wasn't a friendly chat, this was an interrogation! Well fine, thought Hermione, if they want a battle, they'll bloody well get one. Composing her face, she raised her eyes to Dumbledore and asked innocently, "You asked to see me, Professor?"

"I did, Miss Granger. Please take a seat." Hermione walked over and sat in the chair opposite the headmaster's desk that was clearly marked for her. Professor McGonogall stood at Dumbledore's right-hand side looking concerned but business-like, while Snape sat on a chair against the wall on the headmaster's left with an expression that shifted from mildly irritated to thoroughly bored.

Once she was sat, Dumbledore started with a kind smile, "Well Miss Granger, I must say I am delighted to see you again."

Hermione placed her features in a look of happy surprise that she should be addressed thus. "Thank you, Professor, it's nice to see you too."

Grinning, Dumbledore replied, "Ah, but despite my considerable age, my own return to the school this year was not in quite as much doubt as yours, Miss Granger." His eyes twinkled in mirth behind his half-moon spectacles. "I'm sure you realise why I have asked to see you this evening."

"I can't say I do, Professor." Hermione replied, although her façade was dropping. Still, if they want answers, thought Hermione, they're just going to have to come out and say it. There was no way she was going to voluntarily offer them information.

"Forgive me, Miss Granger, but I suspect you do in fact know exactly why I wished to speak with you. After all it wouldn't take a genius to work out that after running away from home one's parents might contact one's headmaster, and, to be blunt Miss Granger, they don't call you the brightest witch of your age for nothing." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Hermione sighed, dropping her innocent expression.

Still, as he hadn't actually asked her a question, Hermione felt no need to say anything and chose instead to raise a sardonic eyebrow.

Albus was rather taken aback by Hermione's expression. He had expected her to crack and confess to running off with an older boyfriend of whom her parents wouldn't approve or to break down in tears and explain how she'd quarrelled with her parents and felt she could no longer live under their roof. In all his previous experience of runaway teens the child had always regretted their actions upon seeing reason and had apologized profusely for the worry they had caused. Albus had at least expected this from Hermione, but as he looked at her face now there was a stern and unforgiving expression in her honey coloured eyes.

Hiding his surprise, the Headmaster addressed the girl before him who he was starting to see in a different light. "Miss Granger," he started softly, "Perhaps you could tell us where you have been spending the past 3 weeks?"

"I've been staying in Muggle London." Hermione had half a mind to tell them it was none of their God damn business where she spent her summer holiday but decided she might as well be honest with them on this question.

Professor McGonagall looked flabbergasted and couldn't quite get her words out. "Staying…London?...On your _own?_"

"Well as much as I'd love to say I was shacked up with an Italian stallion with a motorcycle and a cute backside, I'm afraid it was just me, Professor." Hermione smirked.

At this point Severus struggled to suppress a chuckle at Minerva's shocked expression. He knew the girl liked to talk incessantly but he hadn't realised what a sharp tongue she had before now.

Regaining her composure, McGonagall managed to continue with her interrogation. "But how did you survive? Where did you live? What did you live on?"

"I stayed in the cheapest B&B I could find and lived cheap. I had some money saved from the tutoring of muggle students I did over the summer. Plus I had 100 Galleons from Harry's Triwizard winnings – "

At this Snape interrupted, speaking for the first time since she had entered the room, "He just _gave _you 100 galleons?"

Hermione merely scoffed in response, angering Snape who demanded, "Why should you scoff at me so, Miss Granger?"

Hermione swivelled her whole body in her chair so that she could glare at Snape. "You really don't know Harry at all, do you Professor? Harry gave both Ron and me 100 galleons of the 1000 galleon prize money that he won, thanking us for our help in keeping him alive last year. He said he had other plans for the rest but wouldn't say what, though I sincerely doubt that he's kept it for a number of rather obvious reasons. Firstly, Harry has a whole vault filled with galleons so he really didn't need the prize money and, quite frankly, 800 more weren't going to make that much difference to him. Secondly, Harry was brought up by his neglectful aunt and uncle who never gave Harry so much as two pennies to rub together. He got used to never having money to spend and not having nice things and that hasn't changed since he became aware of his fortune. He still doesn't spend very much – unless it's being spent on someone else. And lastly, Harry directly associates winning the Triwizard tournament with the death of Cedric Diggory. Something he still feels responsible for and which, according to Ronald, he has to relive every night in his dreams. I know that he tried to give the money to Cedric's parents but they wouldn't take it. As far as Harry is concerned that money is tainted with Cedric's blood. – That is why I scoffed at you, _Professor,_ because anyone who even remotely knew Harry, anyone, in fact, who even walked around with their eyes open, would never be surprised that Harry had given away that money."

Finishing her rant with a huff, Hermione turned and sat back in her chair with her arms across her chest, staring pointedly out the window. McGonagall stood agape at her best pupil's unexpected outburst. Snape too was shocked, but his anger at having been spoken to in such a manner was slowly rising to boiling point. Sensing that Severus was about to explode, Dumbledore held up an appeasing arm and turned back to Hermione.

"Miss Granger, you've explained where and how you've been living, but I'm still confused as to why you left your family home in the first place? Your parents said that you had had no argument with them beforehand and that there was no previous indication that you were unhappy or troubled."

Hermione squirmed a little in her seat. She didn't want to lie but she sure as hell wasn't going to tell them the truth. "My reasons are my own, Professor, and I'm afraid I have no intention of telling anyone what they are."

Snape rolled his eyes at what he perceived to be a display of teenage histrionics. McGonagall, however, addressed the girl kindly, "But Hermione, surely you know that you can tell us anything?"

Hermione raised her eyes to her Head of House and spoke without emotion. "I know that I _can,_ Professor, I just don't _want_ to." Bowing her head she continued in a quieter voice. "I don't want anyone to _ever _know."

"Very well, Hermione," Dumbledore said in a sad tone. "If you do not wish to tell us, we cannot force you to. Perhaps after you have spoken to your parents – "

Hermione's head snapped up. "I have absolutely no intention of speaking to my parents."

"But Miss Granger –"

"No, Professor. You may inform my parents of my safety and location if you feel you must in your capacity as Headmaster, but I will not be speaking to them. Any attempt on your part to bring them here to force me to speak to them will only result in me removing myself from this school. You can't stop me. I could easily apply to Beauxbatons, Madame Maxime said last year that I would be an asset to her school."

Hermione could tell that Dumbledore was taking her threat seriously. He wouldn't risk her leaving the school just to patch things up with her parents so forcing her in a room with them to talk was out of the question. Instead, Dumbledore pleaded, "Hermione, your parents have been very worried about you. Anything could have happened to you."

"I stayed in muggle London so I could have dealt with any potential threat with a quick spell if necessary. I didn't mean to cause them unnecessary worry. Besides," She said with a shrug, "I left them a note."

"Insolent girl!" Snape snapped. "Do you think that a note is sufficient to assure us that you haven't been dragged off the streets by your hair into the hands of some deatheater! Do you imagine that the Order has nothing better to do than to waste its time and resources looking for you? Are you so selfish that you care nothing for the worry you caused the people who care about you while you went off gallivanting round London."

"Severus – " Albus tried to stop the escalating situation, but Snape had already said too much.

Hermione stood up, her voice low and menacing, "_I was not gallivanting. _You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I do not have to answer to the Order of the Pheonix; as I am not a member and nor am I a deatheater I don't see how they have anything to do with me. Now, as I have told you everything that I intend on telling you, I wish to return to my dormitory, if I may?" She turned to the Headmaster, seeking his consent.

"Of course, Miss Granger." He agreed with a sad smile.

"Thank you. Goodnight Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall." She acknowledged the older witch with a curt nod and promptly left the office without even sparing Snape a glance.

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**AN: So there's the third chapter. I hope you liked feisty Hermione and want to keep reading. The next chapter, containing the first potions lesson of the year, will be up soon as it's fairly short. Also, thank you so much for the reviews – they genuinely make me feel warm and fuzzy inside **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hi everyone! A quick thank you for the reviews and I wanted to mention something that was brought up by a few people. Severus definitely doesn't know about Hermione being his daughter and Hermione either knows this or is pretty sure he doesn't know. In my head I imagined that Hermione would've read in her mum's diary that her mum never saw Severus again and then met Hermione's father while she was pregnant, who agreed to raise Hermione as his own. She is also aware that both her parents love her and although she's being a bit of a sulky, hormonal teenager atm she gets over that later. Anyway I've now realised that all of this wasn't fully explained in previous chapters. I don't know yet if I'll change those chapters, put it in somewhere in future or else leave it as planned, but it just goes to show how useful reviews are – otherwise I wouldn't know what's going on in the readers' heads! :) So thank you all and enjoy the next chapter…

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The next morning at breakfast Severus observed Miss Granger from his seat at the teachers' table. He was still furious that Albus had assigned him to watch over her (as if he didn't have enough to do), but Severus had to admit that he was curious as to what had caused such out of character behaviour. It was probably some childish concern that had been left to get out of hand, but one could never be too careful, after all it wasn't so long ago that a girl was being possessed by the Dark Lord, and that was before he returned with a vengeance. Severus thought back to the girl's behaviour last night and the faculty's reaction when she had stormed out.

"Well that didn't go as well as I had hoped." Albus said looking forlornly at the door through which Miss Granger had just flounced out of his office, as if it could offer him some explanation as to why the meeting had been such an unmitigated disaster. "Severus –" He began before being cut off.

"Don't you dare blame me for this fiasco, Albus! I still don't know why you insisted I attend this farce. It's not as if I'm known for my caring nature or my excellence in pastoral care. Unless you thought I could frighten the girl into telling the truth, which clearly didn't work. But, I swear to Merlin, if she speaks to me with such disrespect again, she'll be scrubbing cauldrons every night for the rest of the year."

"Severus, my dear boy, I do not blame you for anything. I was merely going to ask if you would watch over the girl and make sure she's alright."

"Absolutely not! I already watch over the Potter boy, do you think I have nothing better to do with my time than watch over errant teenagers?"

"I don't see why you should ask Severus, Albus. Surely as Hermione's Head of House that should be my responsibility." Minerva interrupted Severus' ranting feeling a bit put out that she had been so overlooked.

"Of course, Minerva." Dumbledore said, placating the witch. "There is no reason why you wouldn't do your duty as Head of House and I never expected any less of you. I only meant that as well as your ministrations, Severus should also keep an eye on the girl. She has always respected him; perhaps he can get through to her where we cannot."

"Respect?" Scoffed Severus. "If that was ever the case it certainly isn't any more. Did you not hear how she spoke to me this evening? And she was the same before, when I told her you wanted to see her."

"Yes," said Albus, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "That was rather peculiar. Can you fathom why Miss Granger's opinion of you might have taken a sudden change in direction?" He asked with no hint of sarcasm.

Severus sneered. "Perhaps the company she keeps is finally rubbing off on her."

Albus tipped his head forward and peered at Severus over the top of his half-moon spectacles. "I have told you before that you see what you want see in that regard, my boy. Now, I trust that you will watch over the girl as I have asked. As you have already said, she spends a lot of time with Harry and as you are already looking out for him, it shouldn't cause you to expend much more energy to watch over Hermione as well." Albus finished with a twinkle in his eye and a smile playing at his lips.

Severus merely huffed and swept from the office, much as the school girl had before him – although Albus knew that it would be unwise to point this out.

Now, looking at the school girl in question, Severus noticed that she staunchly refused to even glance at the head table. Observing more closely, Severus also discerned that the girl's movements were sluggish as if she were tired or else very reluctant to start the day.

Next to him, Minerva rose from her seat. "Best go and deliver the timetables; don't want to give them an excuse for being late to their first lesson," she said and strolled down to the Gryffindor table. Severus watched her from the comfort of his seat, safe in the knowledge that he had already delegated that particular task to the Slytherin prefects.

Professor McGonagall handed the timetables out efficiently. There was a collective groan from all the Fifth years as they saw that they had Potions first thing with Snape and the Slytherins. For once Hermione joined in with their groan. She really couldn't catch a break. Seeing Snape first thing on a Monday morning, particularly this morning, was really the last thing she needed. Still, she supposed it was better to get it out of the way rather than have to think about it all day.

Reluctantly, the Fifth years trudged down to the dungeons to meet their fate. Whereas usually Hermione would rush to be early, she now lingered at the back of the group with Ron and Harry, who were now doing rather accurate impressions of the loathsome Potions Master for those nearby, to great comic effect. Upon entering the classroom, however, the three realised that they had made a fatal error in choosing to dawdle in at the last minute. The only available seats left were in the very front row where they would be particularly susceptible to attack and would be constantly observed by their teacher. The three begrudgingly took their seats and not a second later the door crashed open and in swooped a snarling Professor Snape.

Standing at the front of the room, Snape cast his eye over each of the students; Malfoy smirked, Longbottom quivered in fear, Granger…Granger kept her eyes fastidiously trained on the blackboard and refused to look anywhere else. Frowning slightly, Snape continued in his observations of the spotty, greasy haired miscreants before him; finally coming to rest on Potter's bespectacled face. Snape scowled at him before turning his attention to the rest of the class.

"As I'm sure you are all now painfully aware, this year you will sit your OWL examinations. You should know that only those students who possess determination, diligence, intellect and, of course, natural skill in brewing will be able to pass their Potions OWL. I should also inform you now that I only accept students with an Outstanding Potions qualification into my NEWTs class."

A number of students audibly gulped at the Professor's words and their harsh delivery. Hermione, though she had purposefully averted her gaze from her teacher, had listened intently to his speech, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She knew herself to have determination and diligence, and she would also flatter herself that she possessed a certain amount of intellect, but she did not know if she had a natural skill in brewing that would be sufficient to get the grade she required in Potions. And as for needing an Outstanding in order to take it at NEWT level, Professor Snape had only ever given her an Exceeds Expectations for her potions.

Professor Snape continued sarcastically, "Knowing how important this academic year is in the process of your education, I'm sure you have all read the 10 chapters of reading from Intermediate Potion Making that you were required to do over the summer." Snape gave them all an icy glare, as if this look alone would cause them to start spontaneously confessing their own laziness. As no one did confess, Snape said menacingly, "Let's test it shall we?" He paused to let them sweat. "Who can tell me the 3rd ingredient added to a Draught of Peace?"

Snape's eye roamed over every student waiting for an answer. No hands were raised and most were doing everything possible to avoid eye contact. "Can nobody give me an answer to such a simple question?"

Hermione looked around at her classmates. Why was nobody answering? She thought. Hermione knew the answer of course, it was written clearly in Chapter 7 of their text book, but she was supposed to be keeping her head down. Still, as the silence grew longer and Snape's expression became more irate, watching her fellow students squirm in their seats became too painful to watch and Hermione reluctantly raised her hand.

The movement caught Snape's eye and he swiftly turned his piercing gaze on her. "Yes, Miss Granger?" He snapped.

"The third ingredient is Hellebore, Sir; a highly poisonous shrub commonly found in the magical woodlands of South Wales. It must be kept at exactly 7˚C from the time it is picked until it is added to the potion or the person who drinks it will die."

"Once again, Miss Granger, you have demonstrated your uncanny ability to memorize a text book and recite the work of those with superior minds than your own."

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Honestly, she thought, now he's just getting predictable. How exactly she was supposed to make an ingredient an original thought she had no idea but she knew it was best to keep her mouth shut.

"I'm surprised," Professor Snape continued with a sneer, "That you found the time to memorize the text book this year – What with all your _escapades _over the summer."

Hermione scowled, fuming. Snape merely smirked at her reaction and starting giving the class their instructions - his little test forgotten for the moment.

Hermione was still furious though. How dare he allude to the events of the summer? Any more sly little comments like that and Harry and Ron were going to catch on. I swear to God, thought Hermione, if he says another word about it, I'm going to hex him and be damned with the consequences!

Glancing over at Harry she saw that he was looking at her with a confused expression on his face. Sure enough when Snape instructed them to begin and the students all moved towards the store cupboard for their ingredients, Harry approached her. "What did Snape mean about your 'escapades' over the summer?"

"I have no idea," she said, forcing a casual tone. "It's like he was suggesting I was up to no good or something; the paranoid git."

Ron snorted at her comment from behind her left shoulder. "Too bloody right. What a nutter." He muttered.

Harry just shrugged and went off to find his ingredients.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

The rest of the class ran relatively smoothly; her potion earned her a mere nod of acknowledgement from Snape as she handed it over at the end of the lesson. Still, Hermione did not completely relax until she was out of the dungeons and the man-sized bat that resided there could bother her no longer.

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**AN: Thanks for reading guys and a special thank you to the people who have followed or favourited the story, it means a lot to me that you like what I'm writing. The next chapter will be up soon as it's another short one but there's a bit more drama going on with Hermione and Snape so it's definitely worth the read – promise! ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hi everyone! Here's the new chapter of what I am now affectionately dubbing ATBLU. It's another short one I'm afraid, but I promise after this the chapters will all be much longer. Also, I apologize in advance for any mistakes that I haven't managed to pick up in my proof reading, I've been feeling unwell today so my concentration is pretty poor, but I still wanted to get this chapter out to all you lovely people. Happy reading…**

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Over the next few weeks Hermione managed to keep her head down and stay out of Snape's way. It wasn't as if there weren't other things to keep her mind occupied anyway. Everyone's worst fears had been confirmed about Professor Umbridge, who turned out to be, not only an utter bitch, but also completely inept. In their first DADA lesson she had shown that she was purely there to spout ministry rubbish, thereby angering Harry, and had soon after proven that her idea of discipline was barbaric. When Hermione found out that in his detentions with Umbridge Harry had been forced to write with a blood quill, thereby carving his lines into his hand and writing them in his own blood, she had begged him to go to Dumbledore, but he had refused. Hermione had soon after dropped the matter, feeling like a hypocrite for telling Harry to go to the Headmaster with his problems, when she had refused to do so herself, even when the old man had asked her to. Other than that, Hermione had begun to settle back into the usual Hogwarts routine; Ron still spoke with his mouth full, Malfoy was still an arrogant git, and Hermione continued to excel in every class. Well, every class except potions that is.

In potions Hermione could not forget what she had learnt about herself. The truth was stood at the front of the class staring her in the face and it drove her to distraction. Her first potions lesson had been the warning she needed; never again would she allow herself to get so close to completely losing her temper with Snape. She gave up putting her hand in the air to answer his questions; he would only ignore her anyway. On the rare occasions when he had previously asked her, he would only taunt her when she got the answer right. So for weeks now, Hermione had not said a single word in potions; she came in, took notes, brewed her potions and handed them in, all in complete silence.

Meanwhile, Severus had watched Hermione's withdrawal with increasing frustration, verging on anger. Admittedly, her previous hand waving and know-it-all attitude had irritated him to within an inch of his sanity, but now it was like she didn't have to try at all, like she thought she was too good to bother with potions. Furthermore, the girl still hadn't told the faculty why she had run away that summer and not knowing was causing Snape a wealth of frustration. He felt like she was deliberately lying to him; and Snape hated to be lied to. It was with all this in mind that Professor Snape watched Miss Granger walk mutely into his classroom one Monday morning, his brow knitted together in a frown.

Hermione sat down at the back of the classroom with a dusty bookcase on her left and Ron on her right. She had begun to like this spot for two main reasons. Firstly, it was near the door, and for some reason Hermione always felt like she needed a clear escape route these days. Secondly, she could peruse the tattered book covers to her left while half listening to Snape's lectures; much like she was doing now.

Snape quickly grew weary of the fifth years' idiocies as they struggled to answer his questions correctly. He asked another, simpler, question and glared at them all, daring them to get it wrong. A number of tentative hands were raised this time, but Snape's eyes searched out Miss Granger. Much to his annoyance, she wasn't even looking the right way let alone listening.

"Miss Granger." He drawled in a dangerous tone, snapping her back to attention.

"Yes, Professor?" She asked without emotion.

"Answer my question." He ordered calmly, hoping to catch her out for not listening.

"Knotgrass, Sir." Hermione answered monotonously. She had learnt how to pay enough attention as to know what was going on around her without really concentrating on Snape and she knew the answer immediately.

Snape's annoyance grew rapidly to anger at having been proven wrong by the know-it-all, and he snarled, "Would you care to explain _why_ you did not raise your hand to answer my question if you knew the answer."

Hermione looked him impassively in the eye and drawled out lazily, "I didn't see the point, Sir. It's not like you would have asked me if I had."

Ignoring her last statement, Snape stalked slowly to her desk, "Perhaps you now think yourself so superior to your classmates that you feel your energies would be wasted contributing to a mere Potions lesson. Have your know-it-all tendencies made your ego so large, that you believe yourself to be above such lowly duties as answering my questions when asked?" He sneered sarcastically.

Hermione flushed at his caustic insults and struggled to restrain her temper. "You don't like it when I answer questions and you don't like it when I don't. I can't win!" She huffed out in frustration.

"Watch your insolence, girl." Snape warned in a silky voice, but it was too late. Hermione was too wound up to control her anger anymore and slammed her hands down on her desk in vexation.

"What do you want from me?!" She cried, near despair.

Snape, who was now stood directly in front of Miss Granger, placed his hands calmly on top of her desk, leering over her with a murderous expression.

"What do I want from you?" He repeated in a dangerously soft voice. "Firstly, I want you to stop lying to me." Hermione sat back in surprise. Since when was she lying to him? "Secondly, I want you to start treating me with some respect." Hermione tried to stop a snort from escaping. "And finally, I want you to recommence using your brain, adjust your attitude and start acting like you actually give a damn!"

For a full ten seconds the classroom was deathly silent as Snape and Granger refused to break eye contact and every other student watched them in anticipation. Hermione was furious at his words, but more than that, she feared their meaning and his intentions. His desires for her were much too close to concern for her well-being for her liking and she resented every syllable spoken.

Finally breaking the silence, Hermione's chair scraped along the stone floor as she pushed it back to stand up. She tried to keep her voice calm but her quiet words shook with anger. "Why can't you just leave me the hell alone?" She snarled viscously and with that she picked up her school bag and fled the room, leaving her potions book, her classmates and a seething Professor Snape behind her.

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**AN: Thanks so much for reading everyone and please keep the reviews coming. I'm really grateful for all the reviews I've received so far, from praise of my writing to helpful ideas, they are massively encouraging and inspiring to me. Thank you x**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hi everyone! So it is now officially my birthday and contrary to convention I am going to give all you lovely people a present: the new (and much longer) chapter of ATBLU. So the last chapter got a bit heated and as many of you will have guessed there are going to be a few consequences of Hermione's actions…Happy Reading!**

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Hermione ran through the castle with her heart pounding in her chest and tears streaming from her eyes. Leaving the claustrophobia of the dungeons, Hermione headed towards the entrance hall, out the front doors and into the grounds of Hogwarts.

For two hours Hermione sat by the lake, sobbing until her throat was raw and her lungs ached. A harsh wind blew around her but, despite not having her outer robes on; Hermione found that her numbness prevented her from feeling the cold. She was embarrassed and angry for having allowed that confrontation to take place, and she was scared to face the consequences of her actions.

Hermione knew that being around Snape was damaging her severely. She had allowed herself to get too close. Sure, she had succeeded in not trusting him and not loving him, but she still found herself caring about his opinion of her. Like any daughter, she wanted her father to be proud of her and she resented those feelings badly. As Hermione calmed herself, and, using a pocket mirror, applied a small amount of make-up to hide her blotchy face, she knew that she never wanted to see Professor Snape again.

Rising from the rock she had perched on, Hermione made her way slowly but determinedly back to the castle, praying that by now most people would be in lunch and she wouldn't meet anyone she knew before arriving at her destination.

At McGonnagall's office, Hermione took a deep breath and raised her fist to knock two sharp raps of three on the old oak door. She hoped that her Head of House would have stuck to her usual routine of having a late lunch and would therefore still be in her office. She was in luck.

"Enter." Came her Professor's rich tones from within and Hermione pushed the door open without further hesitation.

"Sorry to disturb you, Professor, but I was wondering if I might speak with you?"

Minerva greeted Hermione with a smile. Miss Granger wasn't a stranger to her office as she often came to ask questions about further study she'd done on Transfiguration or to get more feedback on one of her perfect essays. That being said, the girl's visits had become something of a rarity this term and the elder witch now hoped that this unexpected meeting would bring some enlightenment of Hermione's recent unusual behaviour.

"Of course, Miss Granger, do take a seat."

Hermione did so, and then started her request without any further preamble. "Professor I was wondering if it would be possible for me to drop Potions."

Minerva sat back, slightly shocked for the moment. Miss Granger was the most intellectual student she currently taught, she excelled in every subject and was usually in McGonnagall's office complaining that she couldn't take enough subjects.

"Miss Granger, why on earth would you want to drop Potions?" The Professor asked in a bewildered tone.

"The subject isn't for me, Professor." She replied in a rehearsed tone. "I have no talent for potions and trying to keep my work up to an acceptable standard is taking up a disproportionate amount of my time." She lied coolly. "I would much rather drop the subject completely and use that time on a subject that it is possible for me to do well in. I would of course still have the required number of subjects due to my already overfull timetable."

If anything, McGonnagall was even more aghast, but as she regained her composure she said, "I'm afraid, Miss Granger, that your request will not be possible. Potions is a compulsory subject for all students until they have completed their OWLs, that is school policy. I am, however, surprised that you feel you are struggling. Professor Snape hasn't mentioned anything to me about you failing."

"I manage to scrape by." Hermione answered distractedly. "But Professor, surely as I already do more subjects than everyone else, an exception could be – "

"Absolutely not!" The elder witch interrupted sternly. "Potions is a compulsory subject Miss Granger and I'm afraid you're just going to have to live with that for the rest of the year. Now, if you are really struggling to fit everything in, we can discuss the possibility of you dropping one of your optional courses…?"

Hermione huffed. "No. It's fine, Professor. Thank you for seeing me anyway." She said getting up to leave.

Minerva could not stop the girl as she left her office, although she could have sworn she heard her mutter, "I guess I'll just have to endure him, " Before she was gone.

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Hermione decided to skip the rest of the day's classes, seeing as she was a week or two ahead in most of them anyway. The first time she saw Ron and Harry, therefore, was at dinner, where their concern for her was clearly etched on their faces.

"Hermione," Ron said with a mouthful of mashed potato as she sat down on the bench opposite him and Harry. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you all day!"

"Sorry guys, I just needed some time alone, you know? I was by the lake this morning and then I've spent this afternoon up in my dormitory." She answered honestly.

"Are you alright though, Hermione?" Harry asked. "I've never seen you lose it like that before. – Well, except when you hit Malfoy, but that git was really asking for it."

The three chuckled at the memory and Hermione replied, "Yeah, I'm fine Harry, really. It's just Snape that's all. I really can't bear the way he gets at me all the time."

Harry snorted. "Join the club." And with that Hermione knew that they understood how she felt – or at least part of how she felt.

They continued the meal in companionable chit chat, until, just as they were finishing their main courses, a small barn owl discreetly made its way into the Great Hall and landed beside Hermione's plate and held out its letter clad leg. Hermione opened the letter dutifully and then cursed. It read:

_Miss Granger,_

_If you thought that running to McGonnagall and attempting to have yourself removed from my Potions lessons would get you out of the week's worth of detentions you have earned, you are sorely mistaken. My office. Tonight. 7pm. Don't be late._

_Professor Snape._

Having received his note Hermione had quickly eaten some pudding and left for her detention. It was now 6.57pm and she was stood outside his office trying to gain some composure. Having steadied her nerves to an acceptable state, she knocked sharply on the door. She had expected to hear his voice from within commanding her to enter, but instead the door was swung wide open by Snape himself and he glared down at her with intense dark eyes. Before she had a chance to say anything he stood to the side, allowing her to pass and ordered, "In."

Hermione did as she was bid, not daring to speak, and stood awkwardly a few feet into the room.

"Sit." Snape commanded, pointing towards a stiff wooden chair at his desk. She did so; shrugging her bag off of her shoulder and sitting uncomfortably across from Snape's own plush leather seat.

Snape walked around to his side of the desk, but instead of sitting down he remained standing, placing his hands on the desk in front of him and shifting his weight onto them so he was leaning towards her menacingly.

"Miss Granger." He started in his dangerously soft tones. "Let me make a few things very clear to you." He paused. "Firstly, you will never again leave my classroom without my permission. Secondly, you will not go behind my back to your Head of House asking to leave _my _subject and spouting some pathetic sob story about how it's too hard or how I'm mean to you." He said, finishing with a mock whiny voice.

"I never –" Hermione tried to defend herself but Snape cut in.

"Silence! You will _listen._" He scowled at her with pure fury in his eyes.

"Finally, you will never _ever_ speak to me again with the disrespect with which you spoke to me today." He finished but continued to glare at her, never breaking eye contact.

"The consequences for breaking any one of these rules will be _severe_. Am I understood?"

Hermione could think of many things that she would like to say to in response to his 'rules' but decided that in the interests of getting out of this office any time soon and with all her limbs still intact she should settle for an obedient, "Yes, Sir."

"Good. Follow me." He replied, swooping from his office and leading her into the potions classroom. "Once you have cleaned every cauldron, without magic, to my satisfaction you may leave." He instructed sharply, and with that he turned and sat at his desk to mark essays.

Hermione took a deep breath and rolled her sleeves up. There must have been around thirty cauldrons for her to clean so she decided she had better get started.

Over two hours later, Hermione informed Snape that she had completed her task and, having inspected her work for himself, he reluctantly allowed her to go. "You will be back in here the same time tomorrow. Don't be late." He then turned swiftly on his heel and stormed back to his office.

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For the most part Hermione's detentions with Snape continued in such an uneventful fashion. She would obediently complete whatever task he had set her each night, whilst trying to avoid eye contact, and he, having set the task, would studiously ignore her for the rest of the evening. Except, that is, on Hermione's fourth night of detention. Having already had the girl clean cauldrons, tidy the office and sort the store cupboard, Snape had resorted to the far less imaginative setting of lines, and Hermione now sat at a desk, quill in hand, scribbling '_I will adjust my attitude and be polite and courteous to Professor Snape at all times.'_

Hermione had been sat there for half an hour when she was interrupted by Snape speaking from his desk. "Miss Granger."

Her hand halted its movements on the page and Severus watched as the muscles in her shoulders tensed. "Yes, Professor?" She replied in a cautious voice, though her hand never moved from the page and she never looked up.

"Miss Granger – Kindly look at me when I am speaking to you." He snapped.

Hesitantly, she did as instructed, though she maintained a guarded expression of her face as she raised it to him.

Satisfied, Snape continued, "Miss Granger, why did you attempt to drop potions?"

Hermione blinked in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that. When she did regain her composure she merely shrugged and looked back down at her parchment. Snape ground his teeth together in annoyance but still managed to growl, "That is _not_ an acceptable answer."

Hermione huffed in exasperation, looked back at him and replied in an obviously false tone. "It's like you said, Professor, I was just trying to get out of my punishment."

"I was wrong." Snape looked straight into her eyes and waited. However, after a few moments, when she had still replied with nothing more than a blank expression, he continued, "When Professor McGonagall first informed me of your…_little chat_, I did make the assumption that you were just trying to wheedle your way out of punishment. However, it has since occurred to me that that explanation of your behaviour makes no sense."

"Really? And why's that?" Replied Hermione in a bored tone that sounded somewhat forced.

"Firstly, because you, Miss Granger, are obsessed with both learning and succeeding. You would never sacrifice your education over the sake of a few measly detentions and furthermore, you would view dropping the subject as a failure; something you abhor. What's more, your stubborn Gryffindor tendencies would never allow you to walk away from a challenge in such a cowardly manner."

Hermione merely raised a sardonic eyebrow. "I believe the Gryffindor trait is bravery not stubbornness."

"Debateable." He remarked, dryly. "And you still haven't my question."

"What question?"

He fixed her with a cool glare. "Why did you try to drop Potions?"

Hermione huffed. "As I told Professor McGonagall, I simply feel my time would be better spent on study in other areas."

"Miss Granger, if you are going to continue lying to me then there is no point in us having this conversation."

"Oh good, we agree then." She sassed, picking up her quill and turning back to the lines.

"Miss Granger." He purred in warning.

Once again sighing in exasperation, Hermione looked up. "What is it you want me to say to you?"

Snape's eyes softened in concern. He heard the edge to her voice that sounded tired and desperate – almost defeated. "I just want you to tell me the truth. About this, about everything. A blind man could tell that you're hiding something and the worst part is, you're pushing anyone who cares about you away. As far as I'm aware you haven't told your friends about running away from home this summer, you won't talk to Professors McGonagall or Dumbledore and you still haven't spoken to your parents though they send you letters weekly and are worried sick about you."

Hermione hung her head in shame at her lack of communication with her parents. She wasn't really angry with them for lying to her anymore, but every time she tried to write a reply to their letters she found herself with no words.

Snape noted her reaction but continued, "Whatever your secret is, if you don't let someone in, it will eat you up inside. Trust me."

Hermione's head had drooped down as he spoke and now she looked up he could see tears welling in her eyes.

She spoke in the softest of voices. "Why can't you just accept that some truths are better left unsaid."

"Better for whom?" He pushed.

"For everyone." She bit back.

There were a few moments of silence where they looked back and forth at each other from their respective desks. Finally, Hemione sighed. "I'm not discussing this anymore." She said with a calm finality. "You can set more detentions if you like but it's not going to make me tell you anything. I'm done with this conversation."

Hermione expected Snape to be furious so she was surprised when he merely shook his head in frustrated disappointment, "Fine. Continue with your lines, Miss Granger."

Hermione obeyed and not another word was spoken until it was time for her to leave.

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**AN: Thank you everyone. Next chapter Hermione makes a big mistake and I'll probably update that later today – seeing as it's my birthday and I'm going to be away for a few days. Anyway, you would make this birthday girl very happy by just leaving a review. Thanks xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi everyone! Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes and the reviews, they've all been so lovely and encouraging. Anyway I promised you another chapter today so here you are…**

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As autumn faded to winter and the weather grew bitterly cold at Hogwarts, Hermione somehow managed to establish a rhythm of normalcy in her day to day life. By focusing on her studies and spending time with Harry and Ron she was able to push her problems to the back of her mind, just as she had hoped. Besides this, having now persuaded Harry to form the DA and teach their friends vital defence spells, there was little time left to dwell on things she could not change.

Since its establishment the DA had become an unmitigated, if secret, success. Though Harry had started small with relatively basic blocking spells, he had slowly built them up to more complicated charms and incantations. Harry had turned out to be an excellent instructor; he was calm and patient and was always supportive and constructive, no matter how long it took for a student to grasp a spell. Gradually, the dedicated group of students had learnt a plethora of spells that they had never thought themselves capable of before, even Neville was becoming consistently effective in basic duelling and the DA was giving him a new confidence in his own abilities.

It was a good thing too; that they were learning these spells at the DA, as Umbridge had succeeded in not teaching them a single useful spell all term. In a few short months the toad-like professor had proven herself to be a fawning sycophant who pandered to the rich, pure-blooded students and either ignored or belittled those who she considered beneath her. It had been clear early on that the stubby woman was prejudiced against muggleborns and this was reflected in her teaching and marking. It was for this reason that Hermione found herself below the top 5 students in a class for the first time in her academic life. Mostly Hermione managed to brush this off, after all, what was the point in being the top student in a class as unproductive as this one? Still, it was hard not to feel the sting every time Malfoy received an O on an essay and she was handed back a measly A. On several occasions, when the blond boy sent a gloating smirk her way, she felt her knuckles twitch as she remembered the satisfying feeling that came from punching Malfoy squarely on the jaw.

In every other lesson, however, Hermione was back to her usual position at the top of the class with her near infallible charms and perfect scores. In every other lesson, that is, except Potions. Her essays were still of a highly advanced level but her potion making was mediocre to say the least. It turned out that, despite her best efforts, it is incredibly difficult to put something to the back of your mind when it's staring you in the face. Snape's looming presence and just the thought of him scrutinising her work caused such distraction in Hermione, that she regularly found herself skipping steps of potions or putting in the wrong ingredients.

It was in such a distracted state that Hermione found herself in Potions a mere two weeks before the Christmas break, trying to brew the Alihotsy Draught but lacking any concentration whatsoever. Having already sat through an infuriating Defence Against the Dark Arts class, Snape's snarky comments about "dim-witted Gryffindors" had pushed her into an internal monologue, about the pointlessness of trying to please teachers who were already prejudiced, that had been going on inside her head for the last 20 minutes. Unfortunately for Hermione she was smart enough to realise that she was only really upset about Snape being impossible to please because she was still craving his approval, and that just upset her more.

'It's stupid.' Thought Hermione as she threw in her diced shrivelfig. 'Why should I care what some miserable old git of a teacher thinks. It's not as though he's really my dad. I already have a fa-'

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Hermione was wrenched from her thoughts by a snarl behind her and a cold grip around her wrist that jerked her hand away from where it was hovering over her bubbling cauldron.

Hermione jumped and turned to look at the Professor in confusion. As she did so, however, she caught sight of the aconite root being held by the hand that was still in Professor Snape's grasp. "Shit." She gasped and opened her fist allowing the root to drop to the floor.

For a few moments the classroom was silent, but for the sounds of the aconite root rolling across the uneven stone floor, as every student stopped in their brewing and turned to watch the drama unfurl in fear or anticipation. Meanwhile, Hermione stood in shock, not quite believing that she could have been so stupid, or that she was so close to almost certain death.

After what seemed an age, Snape finally removed his iron grip from Hermione's wrist and moved so he was now stood looming over her. "Miss Granger, tell me what happens when you add aconite root to a boiling potion." He asked in a deadly whisper.

"Th-The heat of the p-potion acts as a c-catalyst on the root hairs which spark and c-cause an - an explosion." Hermione stuttered out.

"And now explain to me why, despite me giving several warnings and explicitly writing not to do so next to the instructions, I have just found you about to drop aconite root into a boiling potion with the fire still lit beneath."

"I – I - I didn't – I wasn't – I'm so sorry…"

"Enough." He snapped, clearing her cauldron with a sweep of his wand through the air. "In the last 5 minutes, you have proven yourself to be more of a danger than either Longbottom or Finnegan have in the last _5 years_. Go and wait in my office." He growled. "And don't touch _anything_."

Severus watched in silence as Granger walked unsteadily through his office door. "Back to work!" He barked once the door had closed behind her, and then proceeded to sweep back up to his desk.

Sitting down, Snape found that his heart rate was still racing, as it had been since he first glimpsed Granger holding the root above a bubbling cauldron. He'd been prowling around the class as usual and had almost had a heart attack when he saw her about to blow up, not only herself, but Longbottom, Potter and quite possibly Weasley too. His reaction had been instinctive at the time but he was still now trying to work out how they had come so close to disaster. Snape had been so explicitly clear on that part of the instructions that even Longbottom could not have failed to understand and follow through correctly. And yet, Hermione Granger, the brightest girl in the class, who would normally know exactly what to do without even being told by her Potions Master, had just made the biggest mistake she had ever made in his classroom. It was unfathomable.

As lunch time came around, Snape called an end to the lesson, "Bottle your potions, place them on my desk and get out." Snape continued to mark essays as the students quietly filed past. Eventually he looked up to see Potter and Weasley hovering about his desk.

"What?" He snapped.

Potter hesitated awkwardly, "Professor – Hermione – "

"Will join you at lunch when I'm through with her." Snape interrupted in a soft threatening tone.

"Yes, _Sir_." Potter acknowledged and placed his bottled potion on the desk with slightly too much force before he exited with the red-head in toe.

Taking a deep breath, Snape got up and stormed into his office, allowing the door to slam shut behind him. Inside Hermione jumped at his sudden entrance and looked up at him with watery eyes and a tear-stained face. Her reddened eyes followed his movements as he walked around the room to sit at his desk.

"Well Miss Granger, given how blatantly clear I was that adding the aconite root to a boiling cauldron would result in a deadly explosion, I can think of only two reasons that I would find you about to do so. Firstly, you are a complete idiot with an IQ so low you can barely read, let alone follow a simple instruction. Or, option two; you knew exactly what you were doing and purposely tried to blow up both yourself and several of your classmates."

For the first time since entering the office, the girl's expression showed outrage. "I – " She started to object but was swiftly interrupted.

"Now, as we have established over the last 5 years that you are not a _complete_ idiot, I can only conclude that this was a deliberate attempt to kill your friends, and yourself in the process." He finished with a quirked eyebrow and a smirk.

"I did _not_ deliberately try to blow _anyone_ up." Hermione growled.

"Miss Granger," Snape scoffed, "You are not seriously trying to tell me that _you_ were not clever enough to know that you don't put aconite in a hot cauldron?"

"Well obviously I know that. I was just…distracted." Hermione head drooped in shame.

Her statement, however, had riled Snape's anger again. "_Distracted? _Your _distraction_ nearly killed 3 people!" He hissed.

"I know," Hermione whispered, tears welling in her eyes again. "I really am sorry."

"Your apologies aren't good enough. 30 points shall be taken from Gryffindor." Hermione nodded in acceptance. "You will also serve detention with me every Saturday afternoon until Easter."

At this Hermione looked up at him in despair, though the look on his face was enough to make her keep quiet. Inside, however, she was in turmoil; the last thing she wanted was to be spending more time with Snape.

"_And,_" Snape continued, "You will not be brewing any more potions until further notice."

This time Hermione couldn't stop her outburst, "_What?_"

"You will not brew another potion until I say so." Snape repeated calmly.

"But I have to practise brewing potions. It's OWL year for God's sake!"

"I am well aware of that fact, Miss Granger." Snape bit out sternly. "However, while I cannot be sure that you will not once again be _distracted_, you are not safe to be brewing potions amongst your peers.

"After all," he continued with a smirk. "It would be an awful shame if you managed to do what the Dark Lord himself has failed to do on no less than four occasions."

"Professor?" Hermione questioned.

"Kill Harry Potter." Snape concluded, his smirk widening.

Hermione choked slightly at the suggestion that she might inadvertently kill her best friend. "Fine," she bit. "Anything else?"

Snape frowned at her attitude. "You will be here at 2pm on Saturday. Now get out and go to lunch."

* * *

10 minutes later and Severus was making his own way to the Great Hall. Entering the enchanted room, he headed straight for the staff table where he took his seat between Minerva and Septima Vector. Seating at the head table may have appeared to be random but was in fact highly strategic and carefully thought through. It started with Dumbledore in the centre, who would then discreetly arrange it so that he had not only the most interesting company but also his most trusted colleagues close by. As a result, he was always flanked by Flitwick on his left and McGonagall on his right. Most students assumed that the four Heads of House were the closest to the centre because they were the most senior, but, while this was a good reason in itself, it just so happened that Filius' and Pomona's mutually jovial dispositions made them good company for each other. Severus, on the other hand, Albus knew, was rather difficult to place. His sour mood disgruntled some members of staff and frightened others. For this reason he was placed next to Minerva, who was neither frightened nor insulted by his often rude remarks. In return, Severus respected Minerva's intellect and good sense – even if she was a Gryffindor.

Now Minerva, having been gazing down at the Gryffindor table, turned to Severus in concern. "Severus, do you know why Miss Granger isn't at lunch? They had potions last didn't they?"

Severus too looked down at the Gryffindor table and confirmed that the know-it-all wasn't with her usual cohorts. Instead Potter and Weasley were muttering with looks of concern on their faces and glancing surreptitiously up at the staff table.

Severus sighed as Dumbledore discreetly turned to listen to their conversation. "Clearly Miss Granger finds herself unable to follow the simplest of instructions."

"Severus?" McGonagall only looked more confused.

"After I removed 30 house points and informed her of the detentions that she had earned until Easter, I told her to go to lunch." Severus drawled.

Minerva looked aghast but Albus jumped in before her, "Severus, what could Miss Granger possibly have done to earn such wrath from you?"

"Damn witch nearly gave me a heart attack that's what." Snape growled in response.

"Whatever do you mean?" Asked Minerva.

"I have just prevented Miss Granger from putting aconite root in a boiling cauldron."

The headmaster looked confused. "Miss Granger?"

"Yes." Severus was becoming exasperated. "Miss Granger. Which is exactly why she earned such a severe punishment. Idiocy is one thing. Idiocy from a student who has the brains to know better is another."

"I see." Said Dumbledore thoughtfully before consuming another mouthful of beef stew.

"But surely the girl would know how dangerous it is, she's a first class student for Merlin's sake!" The bewildered witch exclaimed.

"_If_ she ever was a first class student, she certainly isn't anymore." Was Severus' only reply.

"Do you mean to say," asked Albus, "That you have noticed a decline in Miss Granger's work?"

"A considerable decline. These days her potions are barely passable."

"But in her other classes she is still performing exceptionally. In fact, recently, her transfiguration work has become even more advanced than usual, and I have been given similar reports by other teachers." McGonagall commented.

"Perhaps then," Albus pondered. "It is simply a case of Miss Granger spending too much time on other subjects and not enough on potions."

"No." Snape disagreed. "That doesn't explain why her potions essays are still of a high standard. In fact, like Minerva, I have noted her written work to be of a considerably advanced standard of late."

"Then she's probably just struggling with the practical application and is therefore working extra hard in theory to compensate."

Snape seemed unsatisfied with this explanation. "Perhaps. Either way, it is something I plan to address in one of her many detentions." And with that he turned determinedly back to his stew.

* * *

**AN: Thanks everyone. Now, I'm going to try and update tomorrow but I'm not sure if I'll have time before I go away for the weekend. So if I don't update tomorrow then the next update will be Monday, sorry!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Super short note from me as I literally have to leave in a minute's time. This is a bit of a filler chapter but it's necessary to keep the story flowing. Happy reading...**

* * *

At 2pm the next Saturday, Hermione was stood in the dungeons waiting outside Snape's office; she knew he wasn't there yet as she had left lunch before him. Knowing she had a few minutes spare, Hermione took the opportunity to read again the letter she had received this morning. It was another from her parents, this time telling her that they were planning on going skiing for the Christmas period and that they desperately wanted her to go with them. Hermione had already decided it was time to reply to their letters but there was no way she was spending the holidays with them. The tricky part was how to tell them that. She didn't really want to hurt them – she was done punishing them for something that happened 16 years ago and wasn't anybody's fault. All the same, she wasn't quite ready to be stuck in the French Alps with them for 2 weeks.

"Still torturing your parents I see." Hermione looked up startled to see the potions master looming over her, having approached without making a sound.

Hermione hastily shoved the letter back into her bag before following him into the classroom and standing in front of his desk.

"Well?" Snape asked once he was sat in his chair.

"I'm not torturing them." Hermione said simply. Then, at Snape's incredulous look she added, "At least that's not my intention."

"Well as long as it's not your _intention._"

"I'm going to reply…I just haven't worked out what to say yet."

"Possibly the first time you've ever had a difficulty finding something to say." Snape drawled nastily.

"Yeah, well, it's not as easy when you're trying to find a nice way of saying that the idea of spending two weeks stuck with them in some chalet up a mountain sounds like hell on earth." Hermione snapped back.

For a few moments there was silence as the two stared back at each other, then Snape broke the trance as he waved his wand nonchalantly and writing appeared on the blackboard in neat flowing script.

"You will be writing lines for your first detention."

"Yes, Sir." Said Hermione, and tried not to roll her eyes as she started her assignment. The sentence read:

'_I will not attempt to kill my classmates.'_

* * *

Later, having finished her detention and had dinner with the boys, Hermione was working by candlelight in the library; furiously scribbling on parchment as she tried to finish the extra potions essay Snape had given her at the end of her detention. She was secretly grateful to him for the extra work as she now knew that she would have to double her efforts in potions theory if she was going to brew successfully in such a distracted state. Having been studying for a few hours, Hermione found that she needed to clarify the properties of Jobberknoll parts and so got up to peruse the shelves for a potions text which would help her.

Walking amongst the rows of books, Hermione found a peace of mind that she had not possessed in a long time. Amongst these shelves she felt safe. Safe in the certainty that these books, and all the facts inside them, provided her. She strolled down the aisles, reaching out her arm and trailing her fingers across the worn leather spines as she went.

And then she froze.

Unexpectedly, Hermione had come across a section on hereditary potions. In this small corner were a collection of texts on potions that would reveal blood status, family history and…parentage. Staring at the books, a hundred thoughts entered Hermione's head and yet she didn't move a muscle.

Suddenly, a sound from the corridor outside the library made her jump. Forgetting the accursed texts, she noticed the time and realized that she had missed curfew nearly two hours ago without noticing. Quickly ducking into the shadows of some large bookcases lest a teacher find her out of bed, Hermione heard Peeves go by, singing a lewd limerick unnecessarily loudly. He was followed shortly after by a limping Filch who Hermione half heard muttering under his breath. "…blasted…tell Dumbledore…strung up…"

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as she heard both his mumblings and his footsteps abate. Stepping out of the shadows, Hermione quickly packed up her belongings and left the library quietly; the last thing she needed was to be caught out of bed after curfew. Tip-toeing down the corridors toward Gryffindor Tower, Hermione tried to keep alert for Filch and other members of staff who might be checking the castle for wayward youths. She was particularly concerned that Snape might be prowling the hallways as he was known to do often. His almost nocturnal habits were one of the reasons he was known as the 'bat of the dungeons' amongst the student body, past and present. Needless to say, given the amount of trouble she was already in, Hermione would be lucky to make it out alive if Snape were to come across her now.

As she neared the Gryffindor common room Hermione began to relax slightly and hoped that she had gotten away with her night-time jaunt. This was, perhaps, slightly pre-emptive, as around the corner, strolling towards her, was none other than Albus Dumbledore himself.

Unsure how she could possibly get herself out of this situation, Hermione stood still and waited as the Headmaster sauntered towards her in his purple robes and half-moon spectacles.

"Good evening, Miss Granger… Or should I say good night?" Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and his face creased in a smile.

"Headmaster…I can explain…What it is…" Hermione began but was swiftly interrupted.

"Oh please allow me to have a stab at it." Dumbledore grinned. "I imagine that this evening, after dinner, you left Misters Potter and Weasley and went down to the library to study in peace. Perhaps you wanted to look up a transfiguration theory or finish a potions essay." Dumbledore looked at Hermione knowingly. "I then expect that you were so caught up in your work that you completely forgot the time and missed curfew. Then a few minutes ago you suddenly realized that you should be in bed, packed up your stuff and were just on your way back to your dormitory. – Does that about sum it up?"

"Well…yes, actually. That's kind of it." Hermione replied sheepishly.

"I thought as much." Dumbledore smiled kindly. "Well, as it was innocently done, and as you don't make a habit of this kind of thing, I'm sure we can let you off without any repercussions just this once."

"Thank you, Professor. I promise I won't let it happen again." Hermione graciously replied.

"I do think, however, that I ought to escort you back to your dormitory. After all, some teachers on duty might not be quite so forgiving were they to find you out of bed at this hour."

"I think you're probably right, Professor." Said Hermione, knowing just the particular teacher to whom Dumbledore was referring.

With that, the student and the headmaster turned and walked towards Gryffindor Tower in companionable silence. It wasn't long, however, before Dumbledore broke the quiet.

"Do you have any plans for the Christmas holidays, Miss Granger?" He asked in a deceptively casual tone.

Hermione wasn't fooled. She knew that Albus Dumbledore didn't ask anything without reason and he was most definitely snooping. "Not really, Sir." Came her equally nonchalant response, "I'll just be staying at Hogwarts. I want to start revising for my OWLs in summer. You know me."

Dumbledore looked down his crooked nose at her as they walked, concern etched on his face. "Well that is a shame. You really should take Christmas off, my dear. Christmas is a time to relax and spend time with family."

_Here we go, _thought Hermione, though she kept quiet.

"I had rather hoped that you might use this season of good will, as it were, to patch things up with your parents…?"

"I was going to write to them tomorrow actually."

"Really?" The headmaster seemed incredulous.

"Yes." Said Hermione. "I need to tell them I'm staying at Hogwarts over the holidays, don't I?"

"Ah. I see. And there's no way you might reconsider and spend Christmas at home with your family?" The old wizard asked hopefully.

"Absolutely no way at all." Came Hermione's matter of fact reply. "Now if you'll excuse me, Professor, we've arrived at Gryffindor common room and I really must be getting to bed."

"Yes I suppose you must. Sleep well, Miss Granger."

"Thank you, Headmaster. Good night." And with that she gave the Fat Lady the password and quickly disappeared behind the portrait, leaving arguably the country's most powerful wizard just a little bit stumped.

* * *

The next morning Hermione woke up later than usual; probably due to her late night. She quickly got ready and ran down the stairs leading from the girls' dormitory to the common room, expecting to see Ron and Harry waiting for her there. Unfortunately, Hermione was disappointed. As she descended the stairs she cast her eye over the common room and failed to see the two boys anywhere. For a brief moment annoyance filled her as she couldn't believe that they would go to breakfast without her, especially when they hadn't seen her return from the library the night before. Then she noticed that their head of house, Professor McGonagall, was stood in the common room, who proceeded to catch Hermione's eye and beckon her over.

Hermione walked over to her dutifully. "Professor McGonagall?"

"Miss Granger, could you please accompany me back to my office. There is something of which I must inform you."

"Oh…um, sure."

Now, that Hermione stood closer to the elder witch, she noticed that the Professor looked rather more harangued than usual. Indeed, her hair was slightly frazzled, her eyes looked tired and her general expression foretold her distress.

Hermione followed McGonagall to her office in awkward silence. She desperately wanted to ask her teacher what was going on but figured that if the elder witch had thought it appropriate to tell her in the common room then she would have. Hermione therefore kept her mouth shut and they soon reached McGongall's office, which wasn't situated far from her house's common room.

"Please do take a seat, Miss Granger." McGonagall said as she sat herself in her own plush green leather chair behind her desk. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, thank you." Hermione declined politely, though the old witch poured out two cups magically anyway and levitated one to sit on the desk in front of Hermione. Hermione just sat anxiously, waiting for her teacher to hurry up and say whatever it was that had her so frazzled.

Finally, the elder witch lifted her weary eyes to Hermione and opened her mouth to speak. "Miss Granger – " She stopped abruptly. She pointed her wand towards the office door and cast a silencing charm and then turned back to her concerned student.

"Hermione," She started again, though still spoke in hushed tones. "Last night, Mr Weasley – " She paused and clarified, "That is, Mr _Arthur_ Weasley was…" Minerva chose her words carefully, "… _injured_ whilst carrying out work for the Order."

Hermione was instantly worried; the Weasleys were like a second family to her and she cared for all of them deeply. "How badly injured?"

McGonagall seemed to take in a deep breath. "Almost fatally." She answered honestly.

Hermione gasped in horror. "Is he ok?"

"The last I heard he was still in a critical condition, but the Medi-Wizards are doing everything they can and are positive about his recovery."

Hermione was silent for a while as she digested this.

"Professor, when you say Mr Weasley was _injured_, do you mean that he was attacked?"

For a moment, Minerva merely narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at the shrewd student in front of her.

"Yes. He was attacked."

"By who?"

"I can't go into that right now."

Hermione left out a huff of frustration.

"There is more I must tell you." The Professor said quietly. "Obviously there is much that I cannot say here. All I can tell you is that, last night, in some way, Harry was aware of what had happened to Mr Weasley. He informed Ronald, then myself, then Dumbledore, which is how we were able to get help to Mr Weasley so quickly."

Hemione could hardly breathe. She was struggling to get her brain around all of this, but she knew that things were very bad. In her panic she felt tears sting her eyes.

"Mr Potter and all of the Weasleys were transported to Headquarters last night by portkey. They are all perfectly safe." Minerva tried to reassure her student.

It didn't work. Hermione's tears spilled over as she gasped, "Harry isn't safe! He isn't even safe at Hogwarts anymore. Not with Umbridge leaning down his back and not when Voldemort can get into his head even when he's supposed to be protected by the strongest magical walls in the country." Hermione buried her head in her hands as she cried silently.

After a few minutes of the Professor's gentle comforting, Hermione raised her head. She had calmed greatly but unstoppable tears still leaked from her reddened eyes. "Professor, may I go now? I have to write to Harry as soon as possible."

Minerva didn't really feel like she should allow Hermione to leave in her current state but decided it was probably best to let the girl have some time to herself.

"Very well, my dear, you may go, but you must come to me if you feel you need to talk or need anything else."

"Yes, Professor." Hermione responded dutifully before rising from her chair and exiting the office swiftly.

Minerva sighed. They were all too young to have to go through this. Too young.

Hermione kept her head down as she ran through the corridors and as she turned a corner bumped straight into the looming figure of Severus Snape.

Severus sneered at the wild hair in front of him as the girl beneath took an anxious step back.

"I'm sorry Professor," She offered in a weak voice keeping her head down as if the most interesting text was written on her shoe. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That much is evident." He drawled unforgivingly. "Tell me, Miss Granger, do you purposely try to spend your days annoying me or does it just come naturally?"

Hermione finally looked up, straight into his onyx eyes, with hurt etched on her features. Now Severus noted her wet cheeks and her red, puffy eyes. He realised that she had been crying and that she had probably just been told about Arthur Weasley, and possibly about Potter's involvement as well.

"Please," Her voice was strangled and her eyes pleaded, "I can't deal with this right now. Please just leave me alone." She didn't take her eyes off of his and he mentally squirmed under her glare.

He felt an unexpected pang of regret in his gut and stepped silently to the side. "Miss Granger, please keep your eyes open as you return to Gryffindor common room." He said coldly. Then, he watched as she fled down the corridor and disappeared around a corner.

* * *

**AN: Ok, that's all from me for the weekend. I'm sorry that I won't be able to update for so long :( See you Monday! x**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hey everyone, hope you've all had a nice weekend, I know I did, though I'm still a bit sleep deprived from partying on Saturday night! Thank you for waiting so patiently for the next update, I hope you like this chapter as much as I do. Anyway, I won't make you wait any longer. Happy reading...**

* * *

A week later and contrary to her previous plans Hermione had indeed left Hogwarts. Fortunately, she was not being forced to spend Christmas skiing with her parents, and was instead staying at No. 12 Grimmauld Place with Sirius, Harry and a plethora of Weasleys.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Harry had asked when he first saw her in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. Hermione tried to ignore the dark circles around his eyes and the worry lines on his forehead as she replied.

"Well as skiing isn't really my thing and as Hogwarts would have been a complete bore without you or Ron there, I decided I'd come and stay here… after Sirius kindly invited me of course." She smiled. In fact, she had a sneaky suspicion that Dumbledore was involved in the aforementioned invitation, as Sirius' letter came only a day after another conversation with Dumbledore where he not so subtly tried to get her to go back to her parents for Christmas and Hermione politely informed him that there was more chance of Madam Pince holding a disco in the school library.

Christmas, despite recent events, actually turned out to be a rather enjoyable affair. Grimmauld Place was for once filled with laughter as the twins entertained the Order guests with jokes and their planned pranks for Umbridge, Mrs Weasley's Christmas dinner had people drooling, and later loosening their belts, and even Mr Weasley was in good spirits when they went to visit him later in St Mungo's Hospital. Overall, the day was almost cheerful enough for Hermione to forget the twinge of guilt she felt at not spending Christmas with her family. Almost.

* * *

As the New Year approached, a new gloom descended on Grimmauld Place as the youthful inhabitants began to dread the start of term. Ron and the twins, of course, had never looked forward to the start of term in their lives; it signalled to them the start of another period of academic imprisonment, where they were forced to do homework and wear uniforms. Harry who had never before dreaded returning to Hogwarts was now both reluctant to leave Sirius alone in Grimmauld Place and reluctant to return to Umbridge's tyranny. Hermione, too, was disinclined to start term for the first time in her life. Never before had she been unwilling to return to a place of learning, but staying at Grimmauld Place at least meant the she could avoid Professor Snape's looming presence and scrutinising glare.

At least so she thought.

"Hermione, dear," Mrs Weasley interrupted Hermione as she sprayed Doxycide into some moth-bitten curtains with Ginny. "Could you please go down to the kitchen and ask Professor Snape if he'll be staying for dinner?"

Hermione coughed and spluttered, trying not to inhale any Doxycide in the process. "Professor Snape is here?" She squeaked.

"_Yes,_ dear." Mrs Weasley replied as if it were obvious. "He had a message for Harry apparently. They're in the kitchen." She reiterated.

"But –"

"Thank you, dear." Mrs Weasley said as she bustled out of the room.

Hermione groaned. Ginny chuckled. "I'm afraid my mother has a terrible case of selective hearing. Have fun with Snape."

"You have a hidden cruel streak Ginny Weasley." Hermione griped as she left the room, although she just saw Ginny sticking out her tongue before she left.

As Hermione descended through the old house towards the kitchen she heard raised voices coming from her designated destination. _Idiots, _thought Hermione, _they're going to wake up that bloody shrieking portrait._ Hesitantly, she approached the kitchen door. Sirius and Snape didn't appear to be yelling at each other but the tension in their voices was deafening. She heard Sirius calling Snape a deatheater and in return Snape called Sirius a coward. Torn between her desire to walk away from the confrontation and her need of an answer for Mrs Weasley, Hermione remained by the door. It was only when she heard Harry's distressed voice inside that she cautiously pushed the door open.

Despite all she had heard, the scene inside was still a shock to Hermione. Both Snape and Sirius had murderous looks on their faces and both had their wands pointed at the other's head. Harry meanwhile was trying to get between them for the dual purpose of preventing Sirius from doing something stupid and to protect him from any spells cast by Snape.

"_What the bloody hell are you doing_?" Growled Hermione, closing the kitchen door behind her. Three tense faces turned quickly in her direction and then Snape and Sirius went back to glaring at each other.

"This is none of your concern, Granger." Snape bit at her.

"It _is_ my concern when you're about to wake up that bloody portrait! You may enjoy her shrieking profanities, but quite frankly if I wanted to get called a mudblood every 5 seconds I'd have spent Christmas with Malfoy, at least I wouldn't have to de-Doxy the curtains!" Hermione hissed back.

At this, Sirius at least looked a bit sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that kid. I still haven't found a way to remove the old hag yet."

Severus meanwhile had maintained an impassive expression, though on the inside he felt a twinge of guilt. Not about the portrait, but that, despite being his head of house, there was still sod all he could do to stop Malfoy using _that word_.

Hermione brushed off Sirius' apology. "It doesn't matter. Now will you two lower your wands?"

"Not until he does." Said Sirius childishly.

"Not going to happen, Dog." Snape snarled back.

"Oh you are both ridiculous!" Hermione cried. "For God's sake. Professor you know full well that Sirius isn't a coward. He's doing the right thing by following Dumbledore's instructions. He hates staying cooped up in here but he stays because it's safer and we need him. The same way Harry stays with his awful relatives all summer, even though they treat him like crap, because it's safer for him."

Snape remained unmoved, although he privately stored away this information about Potter for further reflection later.

"And Sirius," Hermione turned to the half charismatic, half dishevelled wizard opposite. "You have to start trusting Snape. He's not a Deatheater anymore. Dumbledore trusts that he's on our side and… so do I. He hasn't done anything since Voldemort returned to suggest that we can't trust him. Once, in first year, he even tried to save Harry's life."

"Really?" Sirius asked in disbelief. Unfortunately, Hermione had yet to persuade him to lower his wand but she was pleasantly surprised to see Snape's wand arm falter. He still had it pointed at Sirius but his aim had moved from his head to the _slightly_ less lethal chest area. It wasn't anything to do with Sirius, but more a symptom of his shock that Hermione Granger had just defended him to Sirius Black. She had said that she trusted him.

Harry spoke up. "Yeah, that's true actually. I was flying in a Quidditch match and someone was bewitching my broom to make me fall off and plunge to my death. Hermione and Ron saw Snape muttering and not breaking eye contact with my broom so naturally we thought he was trying to kill me. Anyway, it turned out it was actually just Voldemort trying to kill me and that Snape was, in fact, trying to…save me."

"What do you mean I '_tried'_ to save your life? I succeeded, did I not?" Snape ground his teeth in irritation.

Hermione and Harry exchanged a discreet, nervous glance. "Sure…If you say so." Hermione said delicately. There was absolutely no need for Snape to know that Hermione had started the flames that had inadvertently distracted Quirrel.

At this new revelation, Sirius began to lower his own wand and gradually both men dropped their arms to their sides.

"Good. Now what I actually came in here for was to ask on Mrs Weasley's behalf whether you'll be staying for dinner, Professor?" Hermione said with false brightness.

"Not for all the fire-whiskey in Scotland." Snape stated rudely. He then proceeded to stow his wand and sweep out of the room, stopping only to loom over Hermione, raise a satiric eyebrow and drawl nastily, "I thought you had studying to do?"

After he was gone, Sirius went upstairs to speak to Mrs Weasley and Harry and Hermione dropped into chairs around the kitchen table.

"Thanks for that." Said Harry genuinely. "I think Ron might have mentioned this before but, you're bloody brilliant Hermione. Scary. But Brilliant."

Hermione grinned.

* * *

"I expect Dumbledore wants you to stop having those dreams about Voldemort, Harry." Hermione said to him after dinner, when the three of them were safe to talk in the privacy of Harry and Ron's room.

"But what is this Occle-thingy-majig?" Asked Ron.

"_Occlumency,_ Ronald. And it's the art of blocking your mind to external forces, like Legilimency, when people try to read your thoughts or see your memories."

"You've heard of it then?" Harry asked

Hermione nodded. "Mad-eye – or Mad-eye's impersonator – mentioned it briefly in class last year, so I went and did some research."

"Snape said it was a rare type of magic."

"Oh yes. There are very few Occlumens or Legilimens in the world and it's different from the everyday magic we learn at Hogwarts. You can't just learn it like a spell or a potion; you have to have a certain mentality in order to protect your mind."

"So then how will I be taught it?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure exactly how Snape will go about it. I would imagine it would involve having you practise Occlumency against real Legilimency."

Harry looked aghast. "You mean Snape will try and read my thoughts?!" Hermione nodded solemnly. "But – how am I supposed to stop him seeing – stuff?"

"Well, the textbooks suggest simple mental exercises to help you clear your mind."

"So do you know how to do this stuff then?"

"I'm not sure…I mean I've practised some of the technique, just in case I ever need it, but it's hard to know how helpful it would be in protecting against real Legilimency."

"Oh God." Harry dropped his head into his hands in a sign of despair. Extra lessons with Snape, what am I going to do?"

"Rather you than me, mate." Ron offered, patting him on the shoulder.

"That's not helpful, Ronald." Hermione chided, although, if she was honest, she felt rather the same way.

* * *

"Looking forward to the start of term, Severus?" Albus offered him a lemon drop.

"Like sticking pins in my eyes, Albus." Severus replied, waving away the offending sweet dish.

The old headmaster chuckled softly. "Oh you don't fool me for a minute, Severus. You adore both the pursuit and passing on of knowledge."

Severus huffed. "Was there something in particular that you wished to speak with me about, Headmaster?" He asked, exasperated.

"Oh I just wanted to catch up, Severus; discuss lesson plans, that kind of thing."

Severus frowned in suspicion; Albus Dumbledore _always_ had an ulterior motive.

Suddenly, Albus' face grew serious. "I can't stress enough how important it is that your Occlumency lessons with Potter are a success."

"I am perfectly aware of the importance of the task." Snape growled.

Dumbledore nodded and his face softened slightly. "And what of your other charge, Severus? How is Hermione doing?" Dumbledore watched as something flashed briefly across Severus' face, but his expression remained unreadable.

After a moment of silence Severus slouched down in his chair and sighed. "How the hell should I know? I'm clearly the wrong person for this task, Albus."

"Nonsense! I think you'll get through to her. You're both intellectuals – you think the same way."

Severus made a small noise in the back of his throat that was somewhere between a scoff and choking, but he didn't say anything. Dumbledore frowned at Severus' troubled expression. "What is it Severus? What are you not telling me?"

"She confuses me!" Snape blurted out.

Dumbledore was rather startled by this sudden outburst. "Miss Granger confuses you?"

"First off she hates me – which isn't in itself unusual. Most of the student body hate me. Most Slytherins only admire me; few would actually go as far as to say that they _like_ me. But even then her attitude is a step up from last year when she was always respectful at the very least." Snape drew in a deep breath. "But now she…she…"

"Yes?" Dumbledore urged.

"She said that she _trusts_ me." Snape finished in one heavily exhaled breath.

"Do you think she is wrong to trust you?"

"No, but I don't see why she should."

"Did she say this to you?" Asked the headmaster.

"Not _to_ me exactly, but she knew I was there."

Dumbledore frowned slightly behind his spectacles. "Please, explain what happened."

"When I went to speak to Potter, there was a _slight_ altercation with _Black_." He said the name as if it was bitter on his tongue and Dumbledore sighed in disapproval and exasperation. Severus continued, "As Miss Granger attempted to diffuse the situation, she told Black that he shouldn't call me a deatheater. She said, 'Dumbledore trusts him and so do I.'"

"I see." Said Dumbledore, thoughtfully. "And this causes you confusion, how?"

"Why would she say it?"

"I would imagine it was because she meant it. Hermione Granger is not the type of person to say something of such gravity if she didn't really believe it."

Severus remained silent as he appeared to ponder this. Albus, having nothing else to say, picked up the silver dish on his desk.

"Lemon drop?"

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading everyone. As usual I want to thank all the people who reviewed, I love to hear all your ideas and theories about what is going to happen and some of you are getting pretty close. Next chapter Harry discovers a bit more than Hermione wanted him to...**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Hi everyone! Thank you for the reviews and for everyone who has stayed reading all the way to the 10th chapter. Today, I'd particularly like to thank everyone who has read this story despite the fact that English isn't their native language. It really amazes me when I look at the story's stats to see that there are people reading my work in such exotic places. So thank you for your extra effort! Merci, Danke, Gracias, Thank you. (Other than a GCSE in German and knowing how to say I Love You in Cantonese, that's literally as good as my language ability gets!) Happy Reading...**

* * *

The portrait door swung open wildly and Harry stormed in with a murderous look on his face. Hermione and Ron looked up from where they had found a quiet corner of the Gryffindor common room.

"That doesn't look good." Ron muttered as Harry spotted them and made his way over.

"I take it your lesson with Snape didn't go very well…again?" Hermione asked as Harry slumped down into an armchair next to Ron.

"I'm never gonna learn anything with that greasy git!" Harry huffed. "He doesn't even help! Just keeps telling me that I'm not trying hard enough."

Hermione frowned in concern. Getting Snape to teach Harry Occlumency really hadn't been Dumbledore's best idea. He might be a brilliant Occlumens, and admittedly he could be a decent teacher when he wanted to be, unfortunately, he appeared to have a blind spot of rational thought when it came to Harry Potter. Hermione had often noted that Severus Snape couldn't look past his own big nose in order to see Harry clearly.

"Hermione…" Harry's voice pulled her out of her reverie. "Do you think you could teach me some of your Occlumency techniques."

"Sure, Harry. Though I'm not sure how far they'll get you."

"I was thinking that, perhaps, as there's two of us, we could practise against each other? Just like we do with other attack and defence spells in DA."

"Oh. Umm sure, I guess we could try it." Hermione nodded her assent.

"Ron, you could learn too." Harry said, making sure that his friend didn't feel left out.

"Umm…er…that's alright, I don't really fancy having anyone shifting around in my head and reading my thoughts." A slight blush rose on his cheeks. "Besides I can use the time to do some Quidditch practise. I'm sure Fred and George wouldn't mind helping me."

"Right, it's settled then. Hermione, if you're free we could start tomorrow morning before your detention with Snape?" Harry said, looking much calmer than when he had first walked into the common room.

"Sure." Hermione agreed.

* * *

"Legilimens!" Hermione saw Harry playing Wizard's Chess with Ron. She started to shift through the memories, trying to remain on the surface without pushing to deeply. She saw Harry flying on a broom and felt his exhilaration. She looked on as he walked down Diagon Alley with Hagrid on what must have been his first trip there. She saw herself with Ron and Harry, just laughing together like normal kids their age. She saw a DA meeting, where Harry was successfully teaching them the patronus charm. She watched as Harry leaned forward and kissed Cho Chang. Suddenly Hermione felt the barriers come down and she was pushed out of Harry's head.

"Harry, you did it!" She shrieked, jumping up and down. Harry was panting slightly with the effort of his achievement but his face was plastered with a wide smile.

"Yeah…I guess I did."

"Harry, that was brilliant, you finally managed to block me out. Next time I'll push a little harder. That way we can train you up."

"Sounds good." Harry responded, feeling proud. "Ok, let's swap again. Ready?"

"Sure." Hermione took a deep breath and emptied her mind, just as she had done 3 times previously this morning as they had taken turns to penetrate each other's minds. Her mental barriers took the form of a room where all the walls are one-way mirrors, like those of a police interview room. In her head the mirrors formed a solid obstruction that any attacker could not pass; she could look at them from the other side of the mirrors, but they could not see her. She made sure her defence was safely in place before Harry cast the spell.

"Legilimens."

Hermione saw Harry standing in her room of mirrors. She could feel him pushing the barriers, more so than he had done in their practise so far. He continued to try and find a weakness in her walls and only when she started to tire did she make the effort to push him out of her head completely.

"Wow, Hermione. How do you do that?" Harry asked once his consciousness was again in his own head.

"It's just a case of practise I suppose, you'll get there. Besides you were a lot closer to breaking in that time; I could feel you pushing the boundaries."

"Really? I did push a lot harder that time, but I wasn't sure if I was getting anywhere."

"No, you really were. It was good. You ready to go again?" Hermione asked.

"Ok. Just let me clear my mind." Hermione watched as Harry closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

"Ready?" At Harry's nod of assent Hermione lifted her wand. "Legilimens."

Hermione saw a flash of memory but this time Harry's mental barrier came down much quicker. Harry's barriers were much different from Hermione's. Where Hermione created mirrors, Harry had formed a big steel shutter that, while less elegant, was just as imposing. This time Hermione didn't back down. Instead she pushed against Harry's steel shields. After a few moments she felt his blockade weakening and with an extra shove with her magical power managed to break through.

Now she saw Harry standing in front of what must have been the Mirror of Erised, his parents standing next to him in the reflection. Hermione, feeling that this was too personal to intrude on, tried to move on. Next she saw Harry younger than she had ever seen him. He was being beaten up by another much larger boy and though Hermione could see that Harry's uncle and aunt were nearby they did nothing. Hermione saw a young Ginny lying cold and pale on a stone floor with a black, leather bound book nearby and Harry shaking her limp form to no avail. And then memories were hitting Hermione faster than she could control.

Harry facing Quirrel possessed by Voldemort when he was just 11. Harry running down to the lake to save Sirius from the Dementors' kiss only to be attacked himself. Harry being thrown in a cupboard when he was only 5 or 6. Harry watching Cedric Diggory die at the hands of Voldemort. Hermione heard a woman's piercing scream and finally wrenched herself from Harry's mind.

"Shit, Harry, I'm so sorry." Hermione panted trying to catch her breath. "I didn't mean to push that hard. Those memories just came flying at me."

She looked at Harry whose shoulders were rising and falling heavily as he audibly sucked in air. His face was ashen and Hermione noticed his hands shaking slightly. She too was shaking. All of the memories she saw were things that she had known happened but had never seen before with her own eyes. Then to have them all thrown at her in one go was a major shock to her system. Worst of all had been that she could feel Harry's own emotions that were attached to every memory as she viewed them.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to." Harry said quietly. "Wasn't your fault."

For a minute or so there was only silence. Neither said anything and all that could be heard were their trembling breaths.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione finally asked.

"Yeah." Harry nodded. "You?"

Hermione nodded even though she didn't feel okay.

"I guess we should do you again. Then we can go find Ron and go to lunch." Harry offered.

"Sure. Sounds good."

Hermione desperately tried to calm down enough to clear her mind, which wasn't easy in her shaken state. After all she had seen, she was feeling vulnerable instead of calm and collected. She barely had her mirrors in place before Harry spoke.

"Legilimens."

This time Harry pushed hard. Hermione could sense that her walls, in their already weakened state, would not be able to take the pressure of this attack. Suddenly, her mirrors smashed and Hermione felt Harry's presence shifting through her mind.

Hermione started to panic, and, as a result, all the memories that she least wanted Harry to see came to the forefront of her mind; playing like movies on a cinema screen to their enraptured audience.

Hermione saw herself staying alone in muggle London for the last few weeks of holiday when she had told Harry that she had been on a trip with her parents. Then as if her life was playing in reverse she saw herself on the Knight Bus with her trunk and then her dragging her trunk out of her own front door and down the garden path. As she watched, Hermione felt every emotion she had felt when the memories were made; loneliness, hurt, despair, anger. And with these emotions came an uncomfortable feeling that someone who shouldn't be there was watching everything unfold.

Hermione saw herself in the attic looking through her mother's diary and the realisation that her secret would soon be revealed had her gathering all the strength she needed to force Harry out of her mind. Harry was thrown back into his own body with so much force that he stumbled backwards into the wall of the Room of Requirement where they were practising.

His eyes were wide as he spluttered, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Hermione couldn't answer. She didn't have the words to answer him and the adrenaline pumping around her body was making her dizzy. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she remembered the time when she had run away from home.

Seeing how upset she was, Harry approached her and put his arms around her in comfort. They stayed like that for a while as Hermione calmed down and composed herself enough to leave Harry's embrace. At that point Harry felt confident enough to speak. "Hermione, I'm not sure what exactly I just saw." He started cautiously. Hermione sent him a pleading look that begged for him to leave it alone, but he couldn't. "It was this summer wasn't it?" Hermione nodded silently. "You said you were in London with your parents, but you weren't. You were on your own." Again Hermione nodded. "You ran away from home?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Hermione shook her head slightly. "I can't tell you."

"What? Hermione!" Harry's concern mounted. "What could possibly have happened that you would run away from your parents?"

"I found something." She paused. "Discovered something that my parents had kept from me. – Something big." She looked at Harry seriously. "I can't tell you what it was; I just want to forget about it. I wish I'd never found out, but at the time I was so angry with my parents for hiding it from me that I just packed my stuff and legged it."

"Why didn't you tell us? You could've gone to The Burrow or to Headquarters once you knew we were there. Why didn't you come to us?"

"I knew that as soon as my parents found I had gone they would get in touch with Dumbledore, and the first place he would check would be with you and Ron. Besides I didn't want anyone to know. Didn't want any questions."

"Dumbledore never asked us." Harry said.

"No. I imagine that after he had established that I wasn't with you at Grimmauld Place, he assumed that you either didn't know where I was or else wouldn't tell him anyway out of loyalty to me."

"Has Dumbledore spoken to you about it since school started?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes. That first night when Snape said I had to go see Dumbledore was like the Spanish Inquisition; Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape. He was surprised I'd turned up at all; thought I'd done a bunk for good. Mostly, he just kept badgering me to go and speak with my parents. Kept that up all term. Though I told him if he forced me to speak with them, I'd leave and get a place at Beauxbatons."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You wouldn't really?"

Hermione shrugged. "I knew he wouldn't risk it."

"So…have you made up with your parents yet?"

"Sort of." Hermione answered. "We are talking now…or sending letters at least. It's difficult though. They keep wanting to know why I left and I just want to forget the whole thing happened."

"So your parents don't even know that you know the big thing they were hiding from you?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Nope. No-one knows and that's exactly how I want to keep it. Also, Harry, you can't tell anyone what I've told you today. Not even Ron."

"But-" Harry started.

"Please Harry?" Hermione begged.

"Fine. But can you promise me something?"

"What?"

"Promise me that you'll try to make things up properly with your parents. I don't want to sound patronising but I'd give anything to have my parents back. You have yours and it kills me that you're wasting time that you could have with them. I'm sure your parents love you and I know you love them, so don't waste it."

"You're right." Hermione nodded solemnly. "I promise."

* * *

After a quick and quiet lunch with Harry and Ron, where Ron wondered why the others were so subdued, Hermione made her way to Snape's classroom. Looking in her pocket mirror she knew she looked bad. Her eyes were still puffy and tired from crying and her whole face was drawn from the emotional exhaustion of the morning. The last thing she needed now was 3 hours with Snape on her back.

Hermione knocked on the door and it swung open of its own accord. As usual she went and stood in front of his desk to await instructions, while Snape continued to scribble on parchment.

As Severus came to the end of an essay, he looked up and was mildly shocked by Granger's appearance. She looked awful. Her face was so pale and her eyes tired that Snape could only assume she was not well.

Looking at her in scrutiny, Snape asked with narrowed eyes, "Miss Granger, are you _ill_?"

Taken aback by his blunt questioning, Hermione answered rather rudely. "No."

"Then perhaps you did not sleep well last night?" The professor questioned.

Irritated by his questioning and obvious scrutiny of her appearance, Hermione answered through gritted teeth. "I'm fine." Then, at Snape's raised eyebrow, added in a false sweet tone, "_Sir_."

"Watch your attitude, Granger." Snape glared at her. "You'll be cleaning cauldrons for today's detention. Get to work."

Hermione sighed. It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

**AN: That's all for today folks. Sorry I didn't update earlier on today *looks sheepish* - I got caught up in royal baby news. (What can I say? I'm a royalist. *looks even more sheepish*). Anyway, you know the drill - please review because your feedback makes me write better, which makes the story better, which makes you happier - so really you'd be doing yourself a favour ;). In the next chapter, Hermione get's on the wrong side of Umbridge. I'll try and upload that tomorrow but there are people coming round to view the house and I have to tidy first, so don't hate me if I don't have time! Thanks xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Wow, I got so many reviews for the last chapter - you guys are incredible! Also, some of you will already know that I will often reply to reviews, especially if they are particularly long or interesting, so I try to make it a two way communication between myself and my readers. Anyway, I know you're all excited for the next chapter with a little Hermione-Umbridge exchange and then some more Snape (just because he can't go to long without dropping by ;) ) so here it is. Happy reading...**

* * *

"Finnegan – Acceptable." Umbridge's sickly sweet voice rang out to the whole class as she slapped Seamus' test paper down on his desk. Next, she waddled her way over to where Hermione sat. Her toad-like face looked down at her with a self-satisfied smile. "Granger – Acceptable." The smile on her puffy face grew as she watched Hermione's expression change to outrage. Hermione tried to control her despair, she was sure that her paper would have gotten at least an Exceeds Expectations mark. As the podgy professor walked away Ron leaned over and whispered encouragingly. "Don't mind what that old bitch says, Hermione. I bet it's much better than what she's put." Hermione could only give a half-hearted smile in response as Umbridge called out the next name.

"Goyle – Exceeds Expectations." Goyle looked like someone had just given him a palace made of chocolate, judging by the ridiculous grin on his face. Umbridge gave him an indulgent smile, like that of a mother who refuses to believe her son is the school bully even though she's seen it in the playground.

Meanwhile, Hermione's anger had built in a slow crescendo until Goyle's grade had burst the pipe.

"Are you kidding me?" Hermione exclaimed loudly to the room at large. Umbridge turned her bloated face on her and said sweetly, "Miss Granger, please do not interrupt my class. If you have a problem with your grade please raise your hand or see me after the lesson." She turned back to handing out papers but was again disturbed by Granger's disgruntled voice.

Hermione now spoke with one hand extended in the air, but she continued her complaint regardless. "Damn right I've got a problem with my grade. There is no bloody way Gregory Goyle – a guy who struggles to spell his own name – could have gotten a higher grade than me on this paper!"

Harry and Ron partly felt that they should stop Hermione before she fell down the hole she was digging, but at the same time they were so in awe of her defiance that they couldn't bring themselves to cut her wings mid-flight.

"Miss Granger – " Umbridge started in an annoyed, whiny tone.

"No. Don't 'Miss Granger' me." Hermione interrupted. "All bloody year I've had to deal with people getting better grades than me because you don't like where I come from. I could deal with Malfoy – I mean, he might be an ignorant, prejudiced son of a bitch, but at least he's not stupid. But Goyle? Seriously? The guy is a world class, first grade moron. I'm amazed that he's even developed enough language to communicate effectively with normal people. He's really quite an extraordinary specimen of his kind." Hermione continued sarcastically. "I'm surprised the ministry haven't already taken him in for testing."

"Enough!" Umbridged shrieked. "Detention, Granger! For the rest of the week. Then maybe we'll see if you think you're so much better than everybody else."

Hermione grit her teeth. She knew she was in for a world of pain now, but she couldn't help but think it was worth it. As she left the class that day, despite all the trouble she had brought on herself, Hermione wore a small, satisfied smile.

* * *

Hermione was feeling a lot less proud of herself by the end of the week. After her final detention on Friday evening, Hermione walked desolately through the echoing corridors of Hogwarts back to the common room, trying to stop herself from rubbing her stinging right hand. Now that her anger had ebbed, Hermione was left with only a feeling of disappointment in herself that she had snapped like she did. Before the events of this summer, Hermione would never have lost control in a situation like the one in Umbridge's class. She had faced worse ridiculing before; from Malfoy and Snape, but she had always risen above it. Hermione sighed heavily as she finally acknowledged to herself that what she had discovered about Severus Snape had affected her more deeply than she wanted to believe.

Harry and Ron were waiting for her in the common room with a bowl of Murtlap Essence when she returned, just as they had been every night this week. On the first night it had taken every power of persuasion Harry and Hermione possessed to stop Ron from marching straight to Umbridge's office and hitting her with a stinging hex. They were engaged in a 45 minute debate before Harry finally said to Ron, "Don't you see that if we go running to complain about this then Umbridge will know that she's won? We can't show any weakness to her. We have to be strong." Hermione nodded her solemn agreement.

Ron let out a huff of frustration. "I still don't see why you can't tell your parents about this, Hermione."

"Ron, my parents are muggles. They have no influence in the magical world."

"McGonagall then?"

"Has no authority over Umbridge."

"Dumbledore?"

"Can't be seen to go against the Ministry."

Ron huffed again. "Fine."

Tonight, Hermione gave them both her most reassuring smile. "Here." Harry offered her the Murtlap Essence.

"Thanks guys, but I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to go up to bed."

"Are you sure? You should really treat your hand."

"Nah, it's fine, really. I'll see you both tomorrow, ok? Night."

"Night." The boys replied together, not at all sure that their friend was as fine as she said she was.

Up in her dorm, with her curtains drawn, Hermione let her mask fall. A few tears escaped her eyes as she realised just how drained she was from the week. Hermione had stayed up late and gotten up early in order to do the work that she was unable to do whilst in detention. Now Hermione felt more down-trodden, defeated and weak than she had ever felt before. She looked at the back of her hand which now read the bloody words: _I will respect my superiors._

Hermione hadn't missed the underlying message in the words. There was a reason that Umbridge had chosen the word "superiors" instead of "teachers" or "authority". "Superiors" in Umbridge's distorted head meant those of magical heritage; purebloods. Umbridge was subtly telling Hermione that she should know her place. That a _mudblood_ like her, should never forget that she wasn't as worthy as a pureblood like Malfoy or Gregory Fucking Goyle.

Hermione hated her. She hated Umbridge and Malfoy and Goyle and any other pureblooded bastard who thought they were better than her just because of where she came from. Hermione was proud of her background and she was proud to be the daughter of her _muggle_ parents.

Hermione fell asleep with that thought in her head; she loved her parents and they loved her.

* * *

The next morning Hermione awoke feeling much better. She had spent an enjoyable morning with Harry and Ron and wasn't even dreading her detention with Snape that much. Her detentions over the past few weeks had become a lot more bearable as Snape had allowed her to start brewing potions again, something she still wasn't permitted to do in class, in order to prepare for her OWLs. She was also pleased that his intrusive questioning had stopped. He now allowed her to complete her detentions in near absolute silence and was only disconcerted when she looked up from her work to find him staring straight back at her.

Hermione knocked on the potions classroom door and was permitted inside.

"You will be completing the potion that your classmates did yesterday. The instructions are on the board." Snape said as he moved about the room, appearing to be rearranging his shelves of books, potions and equipment.

At some point as Hermione was cutting ingredients, Snape gravitated towards her to inspect her work.

"Miss Granger, what have you done to your hand?"

"What? Nothing." Hermione said, quickly hiding her hand in her sleeve.

"Granger," Snape drawled dangerously, moving around her desk to stand next to her. "_Show me your hand_."

"No, it's nothing, really Professor – just a scratch."

Snape's already limited patience ran out and he reached forward, snatched Hermione's wrist and brought her hand up to eye level for his inspection. His jaw twitched as he saw the raw mess on the back of her hand. _Some scratch, _Severus scoffed internally. His eyes narrowed further as he read the engraving written in Hermione's recognisable script into her own skin.

Severus raised his eyes to Hermione's and drawled nastily, "It appears I'm not the only one who has a problem with your attitude towards members of staff."

Hermione scowled. "I don't think it was really '_members of staff_' to whom she was referring." She bit back.

Severus understood instantly. Everyone knew that Dolores was prejudiced against muggle-borns and half-breeds and the carving she had made in Granger's skin was testament to it. Severus felt sick to his stomach but merely nodded sharply and dropped Granger's wrist as he turned away.

"Sit down. You need to soak your hand in Murtlap Essence." Snape said as he walked towards the store cupboard.

"No, really, I'm fine. I'll just carry on with the potion." Hermione said, picking her knife back up to continue preparing her ingredients.

Snape was back almost instantaneously, Murtlap Essence in hand. He swiftly removed the knife from Hermione's grasp and growled, "You will not be brewing whilst you are injured. Now _sit_."

His tone of voice and the dangerous look in his eye told Hermione that he was not to be argued with and she promptly obeyed. Severus pulled up a chair and sat opposite her on the other side of the desk, placing the Murtlap Essence between them.

"Hand." He commanded and then took it in his own as Hermione offered the damaged limb. In silence, the professor took cotton wool, dipped it into the ointment and then started applying it to the bloody words on the back of Hermione's hand.

"What did you do?" Snape suddenly asked quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"What did you do to get this punishment from Umbridge?"

"Oh. I…may have called Goyle a first grade, world class moron and I may also have insinuated that he couldn't spell his own name." Severus scowled. "Oh and I also called Malfoy an ignorant, prejudiced son of a bitch – but really that's just fact." Hermione said with more attitude.

Sanpe's look darkened. "Did it ever occur to you to keep your mouth shut?" He said sharply. "Do you not appreciate the power that woman now has in this school?"

Hermione didn't bother to reply and they fell into silence again.

After another minute or so, Snape spoke again. "Have you told your parents about this yet?"

Hermione scoffed. "No, of course not. I'm not telling them anything about this."

"Don't be ridiculous, girl." Snape growled. "This goes beyond whatever tiff you may have with your parents. You will write to them this evening." He stated.

Hermione snatched her hand out of Snape's grasp. "No, I won't. This has nothing to do with me not speaking to my parents. I'm not going to tell them because they're muggles and there is sod all they can do about it. At the end of the day all they could do is remove me from Hogwarts and I'm not going to let that happen."

Severus sneered. "Regardless, I imagine Professor McGonagall will have already informed them. It's her duty as your head of house."

"As far as I'm aware, McGonagall doesn't know anything about this."

"McGonagall doesn't know?" Severus said in disbelief.

"Well one of the others may have gone to her I suppose, but I know she hasn't heard about it from me or Harry."

Severus looked straight into Hermione's eyes as he spoke slowly. "Are you saying that you are not the first person Professor Umbridge has used a blood quill on?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. She first used it on Harry right at the beginning of the year."

Severus' jaw clenched. "She did this to Potter?"

Hermione nodded. "She was more brutal with him though. Harry's hand will forever bear the words "I must not tell lies.""

"Why didn't he tell anyone?"

"Who exactly did he have to tell? You know how much power Umbridge has here. There was nothing McGonagall could do. Then there's Dumbledore who won't even look at Harry. So who exactly was he supposed to go to?"

"He has family." Severus insisted.

"That's such bullshit!" Hermione raised her voice. "You've seen his memories for God's sake! When are you going to accept that his so-called relatives don't give a damn about him?"

"He could have gone to the mutt." Severus hissed back.

"Now you're just being ridiculous. If Sirius were to find out, he would hunt Umbridge down and make her pay. Then the aurors would capture him and Sirius would be subject to the dementors' kiss without even getting a trial." Hermione drew in a long breath. "Harry would never risk that. Sirius is all the family he has."

Severus was silent again. She was right, he acknowledged; neither she nor Harry had any one they could tell who could stop Umbridge.

"Give me your hand." Severus said after a few moments. Hermione hesitated but then she placed her stinging hand on the desk between them. Severus picked it up and resumed carefully dabbing at the cuts. Hermione winced slightly as the cotton wool made contact with her open wounds, though Snape's hands were gentle.

"How many others has she done this to?"

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure. Not many. I know Lee Jordan had one detention with her where she used the quill. So far she's only picked on muggle-born students – or at least muggle-raised." Hermione added, wincing internally as the very phrase reminded her of her own situation.

Severus nodded solemnly. Umbridge wasn't completely stupid; she would only go this far with students who had no one with any power that they could tell.

When Severus was done applying the Murtlap Essence he summoned a small bandage to wrap around Hermione's hand.

"You don't have to do that." She said, trying to pull her hand away. He only held on to her hand tighter and growled, "Be quiet."

"Why do you even care?" She said in a stroppy tone of voice, as Snape wrapped the white cloth around her fingers.

"I can assure you Miss Granger, I don't." He drawled.

"Good." Hermione chirped back while Snape tied up the loose ends of the bandage.

When Hermione had her newly soothed hand back, Severus stood up and walked to his own desk. "Miss Granger, you may leave."

Hermione was taken aback. "But what about my detention?"

Snape turned around to face her slowly. "Miss Granger, with your current injury you cannot brew potions, you cannot write lines and you cannot scrub cauldrons. I therefore have no use of you. Now get out and be here promptly next week." With that he started marking a 2nd year essay and didn't raise his head again until the girl was gone.

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**AN: That's all for today guys, thanks for reading. Please do review with your thoughts and opinions, they're always appreciated, good or bad. Seriously, I get giddy with excitement when I see a review in my inbox! In the next chapter, Snape crosses a line...**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Ok so a few of you guessed part of what was going to happen in this chapter - I don't know whether to be proud or annoyed! On the other hand many of you had no idea what was going to happen and I took a sadistic pleasure in knowing more than you ;) Just kidding - maybe. In other news, I realised when I was proof reading that I probably should have given a warning before the last chapter about the increase of bad language but I totally forgot – sorry! Just so you know the language doesn't really get any better in this chapter either – it's not my fault, Hermione just gets very 'sweary' when she's angry, *shrugs* ;) Anyway, I've kept you waiting far too long with my rambling, so here you go. Happy reading...**

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"Lemon drop?" Severus merely glared at Albus in disdain. The headmaster chuckled softly and popped one of the sour sweets into his own mouth. "Do you have much on today Severus?"

"Only a detention with Miss Granger this afternoon." Severus drawled.

"Ah of course." Dumbledore nodded. "This must be her last one, isn't it?"

Severus only nodded in reply. It was, indeed, Granger's last detention with him, as today was the last Saturday before the Easter break.

"I have good news on that front, actually." Dumbledore chirped cheerfully. Severus only quirked an eyebrow to indicate his mild interest. "You see, I was rather hoping that, as she has started up correspondence with her parents again, Hermione might go home for the Easter holidays." Dumbledore paused, but Severus made no comment. "Well, unfortunately, my hopes were rather premature…"

Snape couldn't help but smirk. "I take it Miss Granger was disinclined to acquiesce to your request?" He mocked.

"She wasn't keen, no." Albus admitted.

"And this is good news how?" Severus asked tiredly.

"Well obviously that wasn't good news, but I did eventually convince her to go and have lunch with her parents on one of her days of holiday." Dumbledore grinned rather pleased with himself, though at Snape's unimpressed look, he added, "I realise it's not quite the improvement we'd hoped to see, but progress is progress."

Snape scoffed. "A flobberworm can make progress Albus, it doesn't mean it's getting anywhere soon."

The headmaster frowned slightly at the younger man's cynicism. "Really, Severus, can't you appreciate that this is an important step forward? We've been trying to get Hermione to see her parents for 6 months now and she has finally agreed. This is a positive step forward." Dumbledore insisted.

Severus huffed. "If you mean 'positive' in that it means I will soon be able to stop watching the insufferable Miss Granger, then yes, it is positive."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I imagine it would be a great relief for you when you are relieved from that responsibility." Blue eyes twinkled mischievously behind half-moon spectacles. "Of course, if Miss Granger were to reconcile completely with her parents and it were no longer necessary for you to watch over Miss Granger, then it would also no longer be necessary for you to discover the initial reasons for Miss Granger's departure from her family home. I sincerely hope that wouldn't leave the issue…unresolved for you."

Severus scowled, there was nothing he hated more than leaving a situation unresolved and if it was left like this he would always feel as though he had failed the mission that Dumbledore had given him. "Dammit, Albus! I did everything I could, the girl wouldn't talk!"

"My dear boy, I'm not saying that this is your fault. I, myself, failed to persuade Hermione to open up to me about her problems."

"Then what exactly are you saying?"

Dumbledore's face suddenly turned more serious. "Severus, I would be delighted to see Hermione reunited with her parents, but it doesn't change the fact that she left in the first place. I fear that if Miss Granger were to make up with her parents at this time, then people will forget that something happened to the girl to make her run away. Hermione Granger is a sensible and intelligent girl; she wouldn't have become estranged from her parents for a trivial reason, and that suggests to me that something big must have happened to her in order for her to change her behaviour so dramatically. I believe that even if she does reconcile with her parents she will still have whatever caused this disruption weighing heavily on her shoulders."

"So you would like me to continue to find out what happened last summer despite this so called 'progress?'" Severus asked with narrowed eyes.

"I would. And, while Hermione continues to remain quiet on the subject, we must consider the possibilities."

"Possibilities." Severus repeated without question.

Albus gained a determined look in his eye, one which Severus had seen on a number of occasions when the headmaster was faced with a challenging puzzle. "Well we know that the event occurred while she was staying with her parents, and that she was very angry with them for a period, but also that they don't seem to have any idea what caused their daughter to leave." Severus nodded.

"But that makes no sense. How could they do something to upset her so much, but not know they had done it?"

Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "I really don't know."

"Perhaps," Snape ventured, "It wasn't something her parents did at all, maybe she was just trying to push them away or distance herself from them. Maybe she was trying to protect them?"

"Perhaps." Dumbledore agreed. "Although that doesn't explain why she would now change her mind and agree to see them."

"Maybe she felt bad for hurting them, or realised that moving out wouldn't stop the death eaters from tracking them down and harming them."

"It's possible." Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Anyway, you must be getting to lunch. I'll leave you to see what more you can discover from Miss Granger."

"Yes, Headmaster," Severus replied as he rose from his chair to leave. "I'll let you know if she reveals anything this afternoon."

"Very good, my boy, very good."

* * *

Hermione practically skipped down to the dungeons that afternoon. It was her last detention with Snape and it felt as though the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She just had to spend one more afternoon with him and then she'd be free and hopefully wouldn't have to suffer his presence alone again.

Hermione knocked on the door to the potions classroom and waited, anxious to get this last session over with. She heard Snape call from the inside and entered quickly, walking up to the front desk with a small smile on her face and a light bounce in her step. Snape looked up briefly and snarled at her disposition. He had absolutely no intention of making this last detention an easy one.

Once she was stood before him, Snape spoke slowly. "Miss Granger, today I will decide whether you are capable of brewing potions safely among your peers. This will depend on your successfully brewing the blood-replenishing potion." He paused and eyed her appraisingly, waiting for her to object. They both knew that this potion was highly advanced and only usually taught towards the end of 6th year if not 7th. Hermione knew he was setting her up to fail, but she wouldn't rise to the bait. She nodded silently to show her understanding and had every intention of brewing the potion well even if it killed her.

Snape merely waved his wand at the blackboard in response, saying, "The instructions are on the board. Begin."

Hermione read quickly through the ingredients and instructions. It was certainly a complicated potion, but there didn't appear to be anything too impossible. Mostly it was just the precise timings that would be tricky. Hermione didn't dawdle any longer and went to get the ingredients she would need.

After 10 minutes the potion was going well, she had added all the ingredients correctly so far, had stirred the potion for exactly 30 seconds and now the potion was the same rusty orange colour that it was supposed to be. Hermione gave a small relieved smile that she had done well so far, though it soon disappeared when Snape rose from his desk and stalked towards her. He peered into her cauldron and then moved to stand behind her without saying a word.

As Snape loomed about a foot behind her and a little to the side, Hermione could feel his black eyes watching her. She had been about to add the sprinkle of scurvy-grass when his presence made her hands fumble and she accidentally added a whole handful, instead of the intended pinch, to her potion.

Hermione swore under her breath and quickly worked to correct her mistake, but she heard Snape tut disapprovingly behind her. She felt heat flood her cheeks and felt her anger rise at the injustice of being penalised for a mistake that he had caused.

The next hour or so continued in a similar manner. Hermione would be doing perfectly fine until Snape walked up close to inspect her and then she would make a stupid mistake under the pressure of his scrutinizing glare. Hermione's need for his approval was too great; the pressure to high, she couldn't cope and began to crumble before him.

Finally, when he smirked cruelly at the sludge that her potion had become, Hermione snapped.

"Back off!" She yelled at him, throwing down her ladle with a clatter. "I can't cope with you scrutinizing every little thing I do! I wouldn't make mistakes if you weren't leering over me all the time."

Snape, rather taken aback my Hermione's outburst, struggled to make a response; not that she required one.

"This whole bloody year has been a complete disaster and it's all your fault! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

If anything, Snape was even more confused; he was pretty sure they weren't just talking about a screwed up potion anymore. Still, Severus didn't take kindly to being addressed in such a manner.

"Miss Granger…" He drawled dangerously in warning.

"Seriously, just leave me alone! I wish I never had to see your face again!"

Hermione became silent, panting heavily and looking pleadingly directly into his eyes. Severus looked straight back holding her gaze and searching her face for some explanation of this sudden outburst against him.

Suddenly, Hermione felt a prodding between the eyes and recognised the feeling of infiltration of her mind. The extra practising with Harry must have paid off because her shields went up reflexively.

Severus had made a split second decision to use Legilimency on the girl. He knew that it was extremely illegal to use Legilimency on a student against their will and that Dumbledore would be furious if he ever found out, but the draw of finding out what had caused the afternoon's outburst and what had caused the fundamental changes in her behaviour all year, was too great. He entered her mind carefully but had barely been inside for a few seconds before he was suddenly trapped in a room lined with mirrors. All he had experienced of her mind in those seconds was the whirlwind of emotions that she was feeling towards him in that moment; mostly hate and anger, but with an unexplainable sense of shame and also something else which Snape couldn't quite place.

Trapped in the room of mirrors it took a while for Severus to realise that she was using Occlumency, but when he did he was amazed. For a 5th year to know Occlumency at all, let alone to this standard, was unheard of and involved phenomenal skill.

Hermione didn't think she'd ever felt so angry as she watched Professor Snape from the other side of her one-way mirrors. She couldn't believe that he would attempt to invade her mind with Legilimency and fury fuelled her hate of him in that moment. With utmost control Hermione spoke inside her own head so that Snape would be able to hear from where he was stuck in the room of mirrors.

"Get the _fuck_ out of my head." Snape heard her deadly tone of voice and left Hermione's mind as quickly as he could.

Back in his own head, Snape couldn't find any words to speak; torn between the guilt of what he had just done and shock at the mental power Hermione had just displayed. He looked down into her face and saw pure loathing in her eyes as she glared at him in anger. He thought she might explode with rage but when she spoke her voice was quiet and slow, if slightly shaky from the effort she was taking to retain control.

"How _dare_ you invade my mind? From now on you stay the hell away from me! I'll come to classes and complete my work like I always have, but you will leave me alone. You won't speak to me or ask me questions and you won't hassle me in potions. From now on I am nobody and nothing to you, and you _will_ stay away from me."

Severus didn't say anything. The slightest incline of his head indicated to Hermione that he had understood and agreed to what she said and she picked up her school bag and left the room in haste.

Hermione ran through the corridors with no sense of where she was going. It was only when she reached the grand mahogany doors to the library that she realised that her feet had taken her to the place she felt safest in the whole of Hogwarts without direction. As she pushed open one moaning door, Hermione slowed her breathing, conscious of how loud her heavy panting was in the stillness of the library. Entering, the door closed behind her with a soft thud, though it was still loud enough for her to receive a sharp glare from Madam Pince. Hermione tiptoed across the vast room, her body calm at last, even if her mind was still in turmoil. She felt sick to her stomach whenever she thought about how close he had been to knowing the truth.

Hermione's thoughts raced like a freight train while her body wandered amongst the books. Her mind flashed with the possible consequences of such a revelation. He would shun her, she was sure, but Hermione couldn't decide what form it might take. It might anger him; he would accuse her of lying or else just be sickened by the idea that his only offspring was the bushy-haired, buck-toothed know-it-all; he would banish her from his sight. Alternatively, he would pretend she had never told him the truth; he would ignore her in class, pretend she didn't exist and try to hide, even from himself, how much of a disappointment his daughter was to him. He probably wouldn't even believe it was true. It was, after all, so highly improbable. Hermione was nothing like Snape, in neither looks nor disposition. Where he was dark, she was fair; where his eyes were onyx, hers were amber, and where she smiled, he snarled.

In fact, thinking about it now, Hermione could barely believe it herself. Unexpectedly, Hermione began to doubt what she had held as truth all year. Maybe Snape wasn't her father after all. She had thought the name 'Severus' uncommon, but perhaps it wasn't as unusual in the wizarding world. She had thought the description had matched him too closely to be any other, but now she considered that she had read too much into it after seeing the name 'Severus' written where her father's name should be. At the beginning of the year Hermione had repressed any desire to test her hypothesis for real, too scared that it would confirm her worst assumptions, but now she was feeling a lot more optimistic that real tests would prove her suspicions wrong.

Perhaps, it was that Hogwarts: A History was Hermione's go to book in times of distress, or perhaps it was more of the magic of Hogwarts leading her to where she didn't know she wanted to go, but somehow Hermione found herself in genres beginning with a 'H' and just happened to turn around and find herself looking up at the same hereditary section that had frozen her in her tracks a few months previously.

In that moment Hermione made a decision: she would find out the truth once and for all. Searching the shelves Hermione took down 3 or 4 books that she thought would be relevant and took them to a discreet corner of the library where she sat at a table tucked behind a shelf of books on water plants and their magical properties. It wouldn't do to be found engrossed in hereditary books. She flipped through the books quickly, looking for something appropriate. Her first choice was a book of spells that contained incantations on revealing blood status and parentage, as Hermione's best skill was charms. Unfortunately, all of the spells in parentage were either too complex or else required another person to perform the spell on her. The second book contained a number of paternity potions, but these either took too long to brew or required a hair of the suspected father. As Hermione had just told Snape to stay the hell away from her, she didn't think it would be that easy for her to get at one of his hairs without arising suspicion. Finally, in the third book Hermione found a potion that would do what she required. This particular potion would reveal the names of her biological mother and father and combined the use of both potion and incantation.

Her only problem would be getting hold of some of the ingredients. Mostly, she could get the items from the Hogsmead shop; they were common enough in potions that buying them wouldn't raise suspicions. However, there were a few items that were a little harder to come by and would probably require a trip down Knockturn Alley if her activities were to remain secret. Hermione smiled a little to herself, how fortunate it was that Dumbledore had made her agree to have lunch with her parents in London…

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**AN: Thanks for reading everyone. Please keep the reviews coming, I've had some really great ones recently and they're all a pleasure to read as I like to know what my readers are thinking. I know you're all getting excited about the big reveal and I can tell you that the truth will come out in just a few chapters time, so keep reading and I'll see you there! Thanks xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: First of all, I'd like to apologise that this update is a bit later than usual. I normally update just before I go to bed but I stayed at a friend's yesterday and didn't have time to upload before I left. So I'm terribly sorry but hopefully this chapter will be worth the wait. Second on my agenda for today is a quick thank you. You may have noticed that the other day there was a request for suggestions of fictions where Hermione is Severus' daughter and some of you lovely people kindly recommended this story and gave me a glowing reference, so thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated. Anyway I've rambled on for long enough...Happy reading...**

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The next Wednesday, Hermione left Hogwarts via the Floo in McGonagall's office and landed in the crumbling fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Professor Dumbledore had arranged with her parents that Hermione would meet them outside the Leaky Cauldron and then head into muggle London for lunch before dropping her off at the leaky Cauldron again afterwards so that she could Floo straight back to Hogwarts.

Brushing the ash off her clothes, Hermione stepped out of the fireplace and into the dingy pub. The room wasn't crowded but was still fairly busy for 11.50 on a Wednesday morning. A number of people were just passing through, using the pub as a pathway to Diagon Alley, and nodding politely at Tom the Barman as they went. A few dishevelled looking wizards were sitting at the bar nursing firewhiskeys and wizard ales, and one brave soul was even eating the pea soup. Hermione weaved between the tables towards the door, slipping past a pair of wizards whispering secretively in a corner, who stopped speaking and eyed Hermione suspiciously as she passed.

Hermione was a few minutes early and wasn't sure if her parents would have arrived yet, but as she stepped out of the doorway and onto the cement paving outside, she saw the awkward figures of her mum and dad at the end of the deserted street. Hermione felt her heart swell at seeing them for the first time since August. They were talking to each other with serious expressions and hadn't noticed Hermione yet. She moved further down the street and her father looked up and saw her, he nudged his wife who smiled at the sight of her daughter. Hermione noted the nervousness in her mother's face and felt guilt settle in the pit of her stomach as she thought about the worry she'd caused them recently.

"Hermione." Her father greeted warmly as she drew close to them. "How have you been?"

"Good, thanks." Hermione gave a small smile in return. "What about you guys?"

There was an awkward moment while Mr and Mrs Granger shared a silent exchange about whether they should be honest with their daughter with exactly how they'd been while she ran away from home and wouldn't return their letters, but then Mr Granger thought better of it and answered simply, "We've been well, thank you."

Hermione's mum spoke softly. "It's so nice to see you again, Hermione. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Mum." Hermione replied genuinely.

"Shall we go and get some lunch?" Mr Granger suggested and they all hummed in agreement.

The sun shone as they walked towards the centre of Muggle London and the warm spring air meant that Hermione only required a light jacket. Over her shoulder she carried a large fabric bag that held her wand, her cloak for later and other more generic necessities for a teenage girl. They soon found an Italian restaurant; the type that was part of a national chain, smart but not overly expensive. A young waiter sat them at a small table looking out of the front windows onto the busy London street, he handed each of them a menu, smiling slightly longer than necessary at Hermione, and then left to fetch their drinks.

Hermione could feel the tension buzzing around the three of them as they politely discussed the menu choices and carefully avoided the metaphorical elephant in the room. So far the meeting had gone as well as she could have expected. There had been no tears or shouting, no denials or accusations, and generally there was a feeling amongst the three of them that they were all just pleased to be back together as a family.

The polite chit chat couldn't last for long though, and once their meals had been delivered and silence had reigned for slightly longer than was comfortable, the conversation turned more serious.

"So, how's school Hermione?" Her mother asked innocently, though Hermione recognised it for the fishing expedition it was. She nodded while she finished her mouthful of seafood ravioli and then replied. "Umm…yeah, it's been alright. Busy, I guess."

"Of course, you have exams this year, don't you?" Her dad said.

Hermione nodded earnestly.

"Well don't work too hard." Her mum offered, kindly. "We we're sorry not to see you at Christmas…"

Hermione kept her eyes on her food but could feel her parents' scrutinizing glare. "I wanted to get started on my revision."

"Professor Dumbledore said you stayed with friends." Mrs Granger's voice carried an edge as she caught her daughter out on her lie.

Hermione flushed, she should have known Dumbledore would be telling her parents everything. "- It was a last minute thing. Mr Weasley had an accident and was in hospital, so Dumbledore suggested that we all go stay at Harry's godfather's house together. – I still spent a lot of time working."

There was silence for a few minutes, in which time the waiter approached again. "Is everything alright with your meals?" He asked cheerfully. Mr Granger made a polite, if brief, reply in confirmation, and, suddenly sensing the tense atmosphere at the table, the young man made a hasty retreat.

There was quiet again until Mr Granger, a normally jovial man, could supress his anguish no longer. "Hermione, did we do something wrong?"

Hermione looked up sharply at the slight crack in her father's voice but all she could manage in reply was a soft and inadequate, "No."

"Then why would you leave?" He returned, his voice quiet but the emotion still evident. "Why would you just leave one day without saying anything? I don't understand."

Hermione put her fork down purposefully and looked directly into the concerned faces of her parents.

"I'm really sorry for all the worry I've caused you this year, I know you must have been really upset when you couldn't find me and when I wouldn't make contact after school started. I won't lie to you, but I also can't tell you my reasons for leaving. All I can really say is that I was angry at the time and leaving felt like my best option. I'm not angry anymore and I promise you I'm not upset with you. It's been a really hard year for me but now I just want to move on and forget it ever happened." Hermione finished calmly and looked at her parents in turn.

Her mother had tears in her eyes as she said, "I don't understand what could be so bad that you felt you couldn't come to us?"

Hermione shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. All I want is to forget about it and I'd like to go home for summer…if that's ok?"

"Of course it is!" Her mother said sincerely.

Her father nodded his agreement. "Hermione, I know you don't want to talk about what's going on with you right now, so we won't push it, but just know that whenever you're ready to talk, we'll be here. – For now we'd just be glad to have you back home where you belong."

Hermione felt tears spill over her cheeks and smiled softly back. She knew that they would be alright now. It would be difficult at first, but they would get back to being the family they used to be. For the first time since leaving home, Hermione had hope.

* * *

An hour and a half later, and having spent the rest of the meal catching up amicably, Hermione was hugging her parents goodbye. "We'll see you at the end of term, ok?" Hermione's mum said, squeezing her daughter tight.

"Definitely." Hermione responded honestly.

"And remember that you can write to us if you need anything." Hermione's dad said as he took his turn to hug her.

"I will." Hermione promised.

With that, they said their last goodbyes and Hermione waved to them before turning around to walk through the dilapidated entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.

Inside the pub, Hermione found a quiet corner in which to remove her jacket and replace it with her cloak which would be rather more inconspicuous whilst among the Wizarding community. Strictly speaking, Hermione was now supposed to head back through the Floo to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore had set no time limit on their meeting so, provided she was quick, she would be able to achieve what she wanted without her teachers being any the wiser. Hermione waited until Tom the Barman was busy with a large group of rowdy wizards before she moved through the pub, past the bar, towards the wizard's entrance.

Hermione exited the building and came face to face with the enchanted brick wall that disguised the entrance to Diagon Alley. She paused a moment before tapping her wand to the specific red bricks so that she could put up her cloak hood before passing through. This way she could keep her face hidden in shadow and avoid arising unwanted suspicions from anyone who might recognise her. Fortunately, the magical world was full of odd looking characters who wanted to remain anonymous as they went about their daily business, so she wouldn't look too out of place, even in the warm sunshine.

Hermione walked discreetly down Diagon Alley for a few minutes before coming across the entrance to Knockturn Alley, where she turned off of the main street and descended through the darkened corridors. While she knew that she would be able to purchase her required items from one of the standard apothecaries on Diagon, Hermione knew that the only way she had of being sure that what she bought was kept secret was to buy from the rather shady apothecary in this dark corner of magic London.

Filled with nervous tension, Hermione made her way down the street, avoiding the menacing stares of old hags and scar-faced wizards. The teenage witch passed Borgin and Burkes and finally came across Ratchet and Reed's apothecary, where laws were considered mere guidelines and no questions were asked. Keeping her hood up, Hermione pushed open the creaking door and crossed the threshold.

Once inside, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. It was dark and creepy inside, the walls lined with jars of unspecified content, but the shop was at least quiet and away from the suspicious characters that lurked on the street outside. In the dim light, Hermione made out a small, withered looking man, sat behind a counter in the corner of the store. The man eyed her speculatively as she made her way tentatively towards him. She stopped as she neared the dust covered counter and strained her eyes to see more clearly in the lack of light. The man's face was half covered in shadow so that, even though she was now stood only a few feet from the shopkeeper, she struggled see him properly. The man continued to stare at her from his sunken eyes but made no attempt to speak.

Hermione, sensing that if any communication was going to take place, she would have to be the one to initiate it, cleared her throat discreetly and asked in a squeaky voice, "Excuse me, I was wondering if you could help me."

"That depends wha' you wan'." Came his gravelly reply.

"Right…of course…" Hermione stuttered, reaching into her bag and pulling out the scrap of parchment with her list on. "…I just wanted to purchase some potions ingredients…"

She looked up to see if he was still even listening and he gave her a curt nod to continue.

"Well…I just need…ashwinder eggs…" The little man nodded but made no move to get them so Hermione continued. "…And also dragon blood…" Again a small nod. "And then…" Hermione hesitated on the final ingredient, which was the most regulated by the ministry and also the most indicative of the potion she wished to make. She took a deep breath, "Moonseed."

Hermione looked nervously up at the man expecting him to make comment or else refuse to sell to her. Instead, the wizard merely raised an eyebrow which told her that he knew exactly what potion she was trying to brew, and then flicked his wand to summon her items.

"D'you wan' 'em packaged?" He asked gruffly.

Hermione nodded. "Please."

While the man was wrapping her ingredients in brown parcel paper, Hermione heard the door creak as another customer entered. The shopkeeper raised his head and then nodded at the customer in acknowledgement so Hermione assumed he must be a regular, though she didn't turn to see who it was.

"4 Galleons, 7 Sickles." The small man demanded of her when her items were wrapped. She searched through her purse and selected the relevant coins, handed them over and then took her purchases from him with a murmured, "Thank you."

She turned around as she was putting the items into her bag and almost ran into the customer waiting behind her. She looked up from beneath her hood in order to apologize and froze.

Snape stood tall and dark in front of her, his expression betraying his shock at finding her there. He soon recovered however, and his face turned into a scowl that expressed his anger.

Neither said a word and neither broke eye contact. Hermione first feared that he would demand an explanation for being here or that he would insist on seeing what she had bought, but then she remembered the last time they had met and the anger she had felt after he had invaded her mind returned. She waited to see if he would keep to his promise to leave her alone.

Snape was also thinking of their last interaction, and it was his guilt over his actions that prevented him from berating her now. He narrowed his eyes at her as she glared back. He had agreed to leave her alone, but he hadn't expected to stumble across her in an unlicensed apothecary down Knockturn Alley. He couldn't believe she'd been so stupid as to walk alone through these streets. Not only was she an underage teenage witch, but she was also a muggle-born friend of the-boy-who-lived.

Severus sighed. Even if she was breaking dozens of rules being here, he stilled owed it to her to let this one go after he used Legilimency on her. Without saying a word he stepped to the side to let her pass.

Hermione smirked slightly at her victory and made to leave, but as she passed him, Snape's hand quickly shot out and grasped her around her wrist stopping her in her tracks. Hermione kept her eyes on the door and her face neutral as the potions master leaned towards her and murmured in a deathly quiet drawl.

"I _strongly_ suggest that you head _straight_ back to school." He waited until he saw her give the smallest nod of understanding and then released her, walking towards the counter while his student scurried out the door.

"Reed." Severus greeted the shopkeeper.

"Professor." The weedy man returned. A quirked eyebrow told Severus that while the man wouldn't say anything, he hadn't missed the exchange between him and the previous customer.

Severus desperately wanted to know what Reed had just sold to Granger but knew better than to ask. There was no way that the owners of this establishment would divulge the business of their customers, even to a regular like Severus, and to ask for that kind of information would be considered bad manners round these parts. No, Severus would have to deal with this new Granger development later, for now, he had his own business to attend to.

* * *

"Knockturn Alley?" The headmaster repeated in disbelief. "Hermione Granger? In Knockturn Alley?"

The potions master was exasperated. "Yes, Albus. For the last time, I caught Miss Granger in Knockturn Alley; presumably, when she was supposed to be having a reconciliatory lunch with her parents."

The elder wizard frowned. "You saw her today?"

Severus nodded. "I suppose it would have been just after 2."

"Well they were supposed to meet at noon, so she probably popped into Diagon Alley afterwards before she came back. I don't like that she was walking around alone through." Dumbledore's eyes crinkled in concern.

"Just another example of the girl's idiocy this year." Severus drawled. "I mean she knows she's a major target of Deatheaters and she's not even of age yet. If there had been an incident, even if by some miracle she got away unscathed, she would have been hauled off to face the ministry just like Potter."

Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully. "Which begs the question; if she knew all of the risks, why was she there?"

"I found her in Ratchet & Reed's apothecary, so I can only assume she was purchasing potion ingredients."

"Potion ingredients?" Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Do you have any idea what she would have wished to purchase from such a place?"

"I have no idea. Certainly, none of the 5th year potions would require her to venture into Knockturn Alley, which either means that she intends to brew an illegal potion or else didn't want anyone to know what potion she is brewing."

"Did you ask her why she was there?"

Severus frowned. He knew at some point he would have to explain his actions but he'd been trying to skirt around the issue as much as possible. "I'm afraid I did not. I merely expressed my displeasure and suggested she get straight back to school."

The headmaster's frown deepened. "That's all you said to her? You didn't even escort her back to the Floo? That's not like you, Severus."

The younger man sighed and avoided the Dumbledore's gaze. "I admit I did not act as I usually would have. I'm afraid that in my attempts to discover what is currently troubling Miss Granger, I may have crossed the line, and as a result felt it would be better to keep my distance for a time."

Albus eyes Severus carefully. "I see. You didn't mention this before."

Severus looked up and into the elder wizard's eyes. "I can't say I'm particularly proud of my actions." He said gravely.

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. Though he had no clue as to what Severus was so ashamed of doing, he decided not to push the matter, seeing that the young man was already feeling guilty.

"Severus," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence, causing the man to look up through the dark curtains of his hair. "Whatever wrong you feel you have done Miss Granger, I strongly urge you not to sacrifice Miss Granger's well-being in a misplaced attempt to make amends."

Snape narrowed his eyes but said nothing, so Albus continued. "Finding her in Knockturn Alley, only goes to show that she is still vulnerable. If she won't talk to us willingly then we must keep a close watch over her. It isn't in her best interests to take a step back."

Severus was still for a few moments more and then slowly nodded his reluctant agreement.

Albus smiled, "Thank you, my boy. As always your service to this school and its pupils is greatly appreciated."

The brooding professor scowled and Albus continued earnestly. "I mean it Severus. Your loyalty is of even greater importance now;" the old man turned to stroke Fawkes lovingly. "I fear I shall not be headmaster of Hogwarts for much longer."

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**AN: Thanks for reading everyone, reviews are greatly appreciated; long or short, good or bad. Please do continue to recommend the fiction to friends and foes alike if you are enjoying the story and think others will too. In the next chapter: Hermione brews a potion, the DA are discovered and Severus tries to get Hermione to open up. The update will either come tomorrow evening (British time) or sometime on Monday, depending on how much writing I get done. See you then! x**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: Here we are again. In this chapter: the potion is of course my own invention but the ingredients are all from the world of Harry Potter, so hopefully you'll find the magic I've written to be authentic - let me know in your reviews. Hope you like this chapter as much as I do - it's quite a significant one. Happy reading...**

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Hermione wiped the perspiration off her forehead and looked closer at the potion instructions in front of her. She was sat cross-legged on the black and white tiles of the second-floor girls' lavatory, hunched over a small pewter cauldron that contained a simmering potion of lagoon blue. The heat from the potion had been filling the room with a scented steam for an hour or so now and Hermione was soon feeling hot and sticky beneath her woollen school jumper. She dared not stop concentrating to remove it however; after a week of brewing, the potion was nearly done and she couldn't afford to make any mistakes at this critical point.

The term had only been going four days and already Hermione was feeling stressed. Harry had managed to piss Snape off so much that he had cancelled the Occlumency lessons, Hermione was struggling to find time to fit in potion brewing whilst also doing exam revision, and as if that didn't cause her enough worry, Snape was glaring at her at every opportunity. She'd been terrified all week that he would interrogate her about her presence in Knockturn Alley. Fortunately, in the two lessons they'd had this week he had not managed to keep her back. After the first lesson, Hermione had sent her work up with Ron and had been out the door before Snape had time to register it, and in the second she had only been saved by the impromptu ending of class due to Neville melting a cauldron containing a particularly toxic substance. Still, Hermione knew her good luck couldn't last much longer and was dreading her next potions lesson when she was sure to get the third degree. The sole thought that was keeping her sane, was that she would at least know her parentage for certain the next time she and Severus Snape came face to face.

The potion was at last ready for the final and crucial ingredient. Placing her stirring rod on the cold bathroom tiles, Hermione used her wand to gently levitate the purple-black moonseed berries into the filled cauldron. There was an instant reaction, the potion glowing brightly as soon as the moonseed touched the surface. Hermione reclaimed her stirring rod and carried out the required motions: two stirs clockwise and half a stir anti-clockwise for a full minute. She watched as the shimmering liquid transformed from aqua blue to a deep and consistent mulberry colour.

As soon as the minute was up and the colour was just as it should be, Hermione knew the potion was perfect. Turning off the heat, Hermione took a deep breath; she was now, quite literally, approaching the moment of truth. She riffled through her school bag and pulled out a sheet of blank parchment. Taking a ladle, Hermione scooped up a spoonful of the purple liquid and carefully poured the substance over the parchment which was now laid flat on the floor tiles. The potion was instantly absorbed into the parchment. Inspecting it closely, Hermione noted that despite the liberal amount she had poured on, there was no sign of the potion at all and the parchment appeared to be bone dry. Again, she laid the parchment on the floor in front of her; turning to her potions equipment she picked up a small silver chopping knife with a shaking hand.

All knowledge comes at a price, Hermione thought bitterly. In this case, the potion would require her blood in order to show her where she came from. Trembling hands rose and the edge of the silver blade was pushed against the pulsing skin of her left forefinger. Hermione hissed as the incision was made and deep red droplets pooled instantly on her finger tip. Without hesitation, Hermione moved her index finger and dragged it down the parchment in one single, glistening line. The bloody mark remained only for a moment or two, before disappearing into the parchment just as the potion had done before it.

Knowing that this had been done correctly, Hermione paused to mutter a quick spell that would clean the wound and stem the blood flow from her finger. Taking a small plaster from her pocket, she pulled the tabs off clumsily and wrapped it securely around her finger tip.

Hermione felt her breath quicken as she drew closer to the unveiling and her hands trembled once more. Closing her eyes she tried to calm her body, telling herself that the results didn't really matter, that they wouldn't change who she was anyway.

Opening her eyes, Hermione picked up her wand once more. She touched the tip to the apparently bare piece of parchment and said clearly, but quietly, the required words. "_Prosapia renuntio_."

Instantly, the parchment glowed so brightly that Hermione had to shield her eyes. The air around her seemed to hum with energy and Hermione shuddered violently at the feel of such magic pulsing around her. The glow abated and Hermione looked at the parchment once more. Words began to form on the page. '_Hermione Granger_' was written in an elegant script in crimson colour, and Hermione grimaced as, not for the first time, her blood was used as ink.

Hermione's name only appeared in print long enough for her to read it before dissolving back into the parchment and there was just a second's pause before new words were forming.

'_Mother: Jean Sarah Granger nee Robinson._'

Hermione gave a small sigh of contentment as she saw the words. She had always been sure that her mum was her mother in every sense of the word anyway, but seeing her mother's name reassured her that she would always be loved no matter what the next words said, and shaking though she was, Hermione felt a new sense of courage as the previous words made room for their replacement.

But Hermione couldn't help it. As soon as she saw the words, she wept. Tears poured from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks and finally dropping from her chin to splash on the parchment below. Her worst fears had been confirmed and her heart felt twisted in her chest as she stared at the crimson words.

'_Father: Severus Tobias Snape._'

* * *

From his armchair, Severus reached over to the coffee table and brought his brandy glass to his lips. He sighed as his body was warmed by the amber liquid. It soothed and relaxed his muscles as the alcohol travelled through his veins. Putting his glass back down, Severus turned back to his book.

He'd desperately needed this time alone to relax. Things were heating up in this formally cold war and both of his masters were becoming more demanding as a result. Honestly, Severus found it hard to decide which one was worse. I mean, sure, one was a scheming, manipulative and extremely powerful wizard with considerable mental health issues, but then the other was the Dark Lord. And as if spying for Albus Dumbledore wasn't enough, the old coot also had him watching over hormonal teenagers, who were determined to make his life as difficult as humanly possible.

Severus took another sip of brandy and rested his head against the back of the armchair. He closed his eyes as he allowed the alcohol to take effect.

_Knock, Knock, Knock._

'Just ignore it.' Severus thought. 'It'll go away.'

_Knock, Knock, Knock._ The rapping became louder and more insistent.

Severus groaned. "Can I not get a moment's peace in this Godforsaken place?" He grumbled as he heaved himself out of his armchair and sauntered over to the entrance of his quarters.

Swinging the door open, Snape glared at a rather flustered looking McGonagall. "This had better be important, Minerva."

"Severus, he's gone!" Was her only reply as she pushed her way into his sitting room.

"What do you mean 'he's gone'? Who's gone?"

"Albus, of course! Albus is gone!" Severus noted with mild interest how Minerva's Scottish accent only got thicker and more incomprehensible the more distressed she was, but he turned to the matter at hand.

"Gone where?"

"Into hiding!" The usually composed Minerva babbled. "Potter and…and Umbridge…and then the Ministry…Fudge…Smoke…Albus…Gone!"

"Minerva, calm down and stop shrieking like a banshee." Severus said sternly. "Have some brandy, sit down and tell me what exactly has happened. From the beginning."

A few minutes and an equal number of brandy sips later, McGonagall was back to her usual imperturbable state.

"You know Umbridge was trying to find that group of Potter's?" Severus scowled at the mention of Potter but nodded his understanding. "Well I don't know exactly what happened but she got them. So of course she tries to get him expelled, only they've gone and called themselves 'Dumbledore's Army' and the crazy old bat thinks Albus is planning some kind of revolution using troops of schoolchildren."

Severus scoffed. "Potter and his little friends can barely cast a body-binder, let alone stage a coup."

"Quite." Said Minerva. "Well anyway the stupid cow summoned Fudge and he tried to arrest Albus. _He_, of course, wasn't having any of it and fled the scene, quite literally, in a puff of smoke."

"I see." Severus said, thoughtfully. "Do you know where he's hiding?"

"He told me that if something like this were to ever happen he would go to headquarters. I imagine he will contact one of us in due course."

Severus nodded.

With nothing else to say the teachers lapsed into silence.

After a few minutes of sitting thoughtfully and sipping brandy, Severus heard Minerva's quiet voice again.

"What do we do, Severus? How are we supposed to protect these children with that bitch in charge? How do we protect them from war?"

Severus stayed quiet for a moment before looking his colleague in the eye and replying seriously, "We do what we're paid to do, Minerva. We teach." He leaned forwards, resting his elbows on his knees, his onyx eyes burning with intensity. "We teach them everything we know. Because no matter how much you try, Minerva, you can't protect them from this war. All you can do is teach them something useful and hope to God they remember it when it is inevitably needed."

* * *

"Time's up. Bottle your abysmal potion attempts and put them on the side on your way out. Miss Granger, stay behind."

Hermione sighed, resigned to her fate. 'God I hope this doesn't take long.' Hermione thought. 'I'm too tired to argue with him anymore.'

"What does Snape want with you now?" Harry asked as he filled a vial with his rather mediocre potion attempt.

"I don't know, Harry." She lied smoothly. "He's been on my back all year. I've stopped second guessing what Snape's problem is."

"You want us to wait for you, 'Mione?" Ron asked kindly.

"No thanks, Ron. He'll probably be whining at me for a while, you might as well go off to lunch."

"Alright. Well, we'll see you in a bit." He said sympathetically, throwing Snape a nasty glare before he deposited his potion and left with Harry.

Severus waited until the last students had exited the classroom. It didn't take long. Most students left his lessons with the same speed one would flee a murder scene. Hermione approached his desk slowly, wringing her hands nervously. Severus appraised her carefully as she drew closer. The girl looked tired and drawn, her eyes dull and her hair frizzy with apparent agitation.

"Come." He said sternly. "You and I need to have a little chat." He turned sharply and walked into his office, leaving the door open for her to follow.

Hermione closed the door quietly behind her as she entered Snape's office, before calmly sitting in the chair opposite him. They looked seriously at one another from either side of the ornate mahogany desk, Snape's brow furrowed and Hermione nervously chewing her lip.

"Miss Granger," Snape began calmly. "Tell me, _truthfully_, what you were doing in Knockturn Alley."

Hermione sighed, but decided to humour him by telling the truth. "I was buying potion ingredients, Professor."

Snape almost growled in annoyance. "I am fully aware that you were buying potion ingredients, Miss Granger. What I want to know is, what exactly you needed to buy, that required you to step foot in an unlicensed apothecary down Knockturn Alley?"

Hermione raised her eyes upward, searching for any appropriate answer that might be written on the ceiling. She resolved her intention to speak truthfully and looked steadily into the black eyes before her.

"You know as well as I do, Professor, that there are certain advantages to shopping in a place like Ratchet and Reed's."

"Oh yes, there are a number of benefits, I know. – And which specific skill of theirs did you so desire?" Severus raised his dark eyebrow questioningly.

"Confidentiality." Hermione specified with a slight smile.

"Of course." Snape sneered, his tone laced with displeasure. "You are aware, Miss Granger, that Hogwarts expressly forbids any unsupervised brewing."

Hermione struggled to suppress a scoff. "Yeah, well up until recently it expressly forbade the use of corporal punishment on students too, but I guess things change." She replied flippantly, flashing briefly her clumsily bandaged hand.

Snape rose instantly and was soon rummaging in a cupboard in the corner of the small room. "I had forgotten." Snape muttered. "How long were you all detained?" He asked in a disinterested tone as he came back with a bowl of Murtlap Essence and some cotton wool.

"Maybe four hours or so." Hermione replied casually, extending her hand to him across the smooth wooden surface of the desk.

Severus scowled slightly but made no comment as he unravelled the bandage on her hand and revealed the sore words beneath. '_I will not defy the ministry_.'

Hermione continued. "Truth is, it really wasn't as bad with all of us from the DA there. Maybe there's something to be said for solidarity." She shrugged her shoulders.

"The DA? Oh yes, _Dumbledore's Army_." Snape mocked unkindly.

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "You know, that was supposed to be ironic. We never actually considered ourselves to be some kind of revolutionary army; we were just a study group really. We were originally the 'Defence Association' anyway. Harry preferred that."

Snape's thin lips twisted slightly. "Please, I bet Potter loved the chance to lead a group of dedicated followers blindly in his shining light." He drawled nastily.

Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes again. "Are you blind?" She asked rhetorically. "Harry hates the limelight. Always has. And he's very self-deprecating of his own abilities. It took me nearly six weeks to convince him to teach us!"

Snape failed to mask his surprise. "This was _your_ idea?"

Hermione nodded, wincing slightly as the ointment stung her hand.

"How could you be so foolish?" Snape hissed angrily at her.

"It wasn't foolish. Risky, maybe, but not foolish. Besides, we took certain measures to reduce the chances of being caught. They worked for most of the year." Hermione said casually.

Snape snarled. "The whole scheme was completely idiotic!"

Hermione huffed in annoyance. "Maybe, it was. But that doesn't mean it wasn't necessary."

"Necessary!" For once Snape was actually raising his voice slightly, and though her hand was still in his, he had long forgotten that he was supposed to be treating her cuts. "What possible need could there be for a secret club – which everyone knows about I might add – full of idiotic teenagers."

Hermione scowled and snatched her hand back angrily. "God, you sound just like Umbridge! _'Why would you need to know how to use defence spells? There's nothing dangerous out there_.'" Hermione imitated the woman's silly high-pitched tone. "You, Dumbledore, Umbridge; you're all the same." She finished in a disgusted tone.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Snape drawled dangerously.

Hermione huffed. "It_ means_ we might be young but we're not stupid. We know what's going on, we can see it happening, and you're not protecting us by keeping us in the dark." Severus watched as she expressed herself passionately. "You know that we're going to need to be able to defend ourselves. And not in some distant, remote future, but soon, really soon. And yet no one was teaching us! So we did it ourselves, because we knew it was necessary. And screw you if you think you're going to make me feel guilty for creating something that will protect us when we're fighting them, because despite what the so-called 'adults' appear to want, I will not let my friends go out there unprepared."

Severus' face was grave. "Your hand." He instructed softly, holding out his own palm in invitation.

Hermione complied and they were quiet for a moment as Snape reached for clean bandages to wrap around her hand.

"You're blaming us for trying to keep you safe? For not involving you in a war that wasn't even yours in the first place?"

Hermione looked straight into Severus' eyes, her own wide and fiery. "Can't you see? _We're already involved._"

They held each other's gaze for a long moment; two generations, both trying to understand and be understood. Hermione was almost lost in the depths of his black pools and Severus felt anchored to the amber of her irises.

Finally, Severus gave a small nod and tore his eyes from hers, looking back down to her bandaged hand that was still held in his own. He flipped it over to ensure the bandage was secure and frowned.

"You've cut your finger."

Hermione pulled her hand back sharply. "It's fine."

"Miss Granger, look at me. How did you cut your finger?"

Severus watched her peek upwards between her curled locks, her eyes shining slightly with unshed tears.

"I don't remember." She whispered almost inaudibly.

"Miss Granger, potions that require your own blood are incredibly powerful and can be very dangerous to the brewer." He said seriously, his voice laced with the unfamiliar tint of concern.

"Yeah, well clearly I'm fine, so there was no need for you to worry." Hermione replied flippantly.

Snape's eyes widened in surprise. "You've already brewed it?"

"Brewed it, used it, disposed of it. So it's over, alright? I'm fine." She looked away as her eyes began to well. "Everything's hunky bloody dory." She muttered bitterly.

"Why won't you tell me what's upsetting you?"

"Trust me." Hermione looked up at Snape and he saw the tears spilling over her cheeks. "You really don't want to know."

"Hermione," Her first name rolled unconsciously off his tongue. "If you ever need help, you can come to me."

Hermione averted her eyes. "I – I should go…" She stood up shakily, picking up her school bag and refusing to make eye contact. "Harry and Ron will be waiting for me." She hurried to the door, throwing it open and ignoring the Professor's voice behind her.

"Hermione, wait." She didn't hesitate as she fled out through the potions classroom. "…Hermione!" But she was already gone.

"Shit." Severus cursed. That girl had never been afraid to stand up for what she believed in, he had seen her face escaped prisoners and werewolves without batting an eyelid, and even now, in the face of imminent, life-threatening war, she demonstrated a courage and maturity that was far beyond her years. And yet something was going on with her this year that always made her run away. Snape hated to admit it but he had become really concerned for the girl, and he knew now that whatever he did next, he desperately didn't want Hermione Granger to run away from him again.

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**AN: N'aww, this chapter actually makes me feel quite sad :'( When will those two come to their senses, eh? Well, actually, I know when they will, because I get to choose :) Ah the joys of being a writer - I feel so powerful ;D **

**Anyway, in reference to the aforementioned revelations, you're going to want to read the next chapter. Hint, hint, wink, wink.**

**Also, you may remember I said previously that the story was aiming to be 18 chapters long. I have now decided that it will need to be 19 chapters - which essentially means you get another day of me filling your lives with ATBLU drama :) Now I would have loved to have finished uploading everything by the end of this week but I'm going to London on Wednesday until Sunday so I need to decide whether I can push everything out in the next 3 days or if I will have to take a 4 day hiatus before the last chapters are out. **

**So, please review this chapter as I really want to know what you thought of the potion making and also what you thought of the last SS/HG scene. Did it make you sad too, or am I just being soft?**

**Let me know, thanks guys. x**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Wow everyone, thank you so much for all the reviews of the last chapter, they are all so encouraging to me. Now I realize this chapter is painfully short, but it's also very important and it made sense to be to isolate it from everything else. I won't leave you waiting any longer...happy reading...**

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"Oh dear." A girly voice said sarcastically. "What have we here?"

Hermione jumped and turned around quickly to see Umbridge entering her office, Inquisitorial Squad in tow.

"Hold her." Umbridge ordered. Before Hermione could act, Malfoy had wrestled her wand from her hand and then pinned her arms to her sides as he restrained her from behind. As she struggled she saw Ginny, Luna, a bloody-nosed Ron and Neville brought in like prisoners by the other sycophantic Slytherins.

Umbridge, meanwhile, had rushed over to the fireplace where Harry was still kneeling and grabbed him by the hair.

"Who were you talking to?" Umbridge shrieked, shaking Harry's head to and fro as she dragged him to his feet. "Dumbledore? Or was it that oaf Hagrid?"

Harry winced as the toad's stubby fingers tugged his hair from his scalp. "I wasn't talking to anybody." Harry insisted. "And I wouldn't tell you if I was." He added defiantly.

"Well, we'll just have to see about that won't we?" Umbridge smiled falsely. "Draco, go and fetch Professor Snape.

Malfoy nodded and passed Hermione into Goyle's sweaty hands before he left. Again, Hermione struggled to break free, but Goyle just held her wrists painfully and breathed heavily on her neck.

Hermione and Harry exchanged a meaningful glance. They had both realised as soon as Snape was mentioned that, as a member of the Order, he was the one teacher left at Hogwarts who might be able to help them. Harry was looking wide eyed and desperately at her and Hermione knew instinctively what he was trying to communicate. He was thinking of a way to pass Snape a message without giving them away. Hermione shook her head very slightly so that no one else would notice. It would be far too dangerous to pass a coded message to Snape in front of Umbridge and all these Deatheater children; Snape could easily be revealed as a spy for the Order or else they could inadvertently divulge too much information about the Department of Mysteries.

Harry frowned at her refusal, but Hermione just threw him a look which spoke volumes to her close friend. He understood immediately just what she was saying with that look – 'Trust me. I have a plan.'

Hermione did have a plan, but it wouldn't be easy and in doing so she would sacrifice everything she had tried to protect this term.

A few minutes later and Draco had returned with Snape, who walked casually into the chaotic situation with his usual expression of indifference.

"You sent for me, Headmistress?" Snape said in a bored tone.

Hermione's heart nearly stopped when Umbridge asked the sour Potions Master for Veritaserum and she only started breathing again when Snape told her that that wouldn't be possible.

Umbridge was wailing, her voice getting higher and her face getting redder, but Hermione was no longer listening properly. She had so little time. All she needed was for him to look at her. Professor Snape turned to leave and Harry looked at Hermione desperately. This was her last chance.

"Professor, wait!" Hermione called out and the Potions Master froze mid stride. He turned around slowly and looked at her suspiciously.

Hermione widened her eyes and looked pleadingly at him, praying in her mind that he would understand. She looked dead into his eyes as she said softly, "Please, Professor – look at me."

Hermione watched as the slight expression of confusion left his face and understanding dawned. She saw him school his features back into a long practised neutral expression and looked into her eyes unwaveringly. And then she felt his presence inside.

There was no time for Hermione to shield her mind and stop him from seeing her secrets. If she wanted to pass on the message about Sirius she would have to let Snape see everything.

She desperately tried to organize her mind to show him the memories of Harry that he needed to see, but with her mind in such emotional turmoil it was near impossible to control what was seen.

Hermione brought to mind the memory of just a few hours ago when Harry started screaming in the exam. It was seen for only a second before the image was snatched away by her unconscious and replaced with different snippets of memory.

Hermione in Dumbledore's office, getting angry as she argued with Snape. Hermione storming out of a potions lesson, furious at Snape.

Hermione tried desperately to reign her thoughts back in. She thought of Harry telling them about Voldemort torturing Sirius. She saw herself sat on a dusty box, holding a leather bound diary and reading about a Severus who was supposedly her father.

Hermione knew he had seen too much now. There was no going back, but she tried to focus once more. She saw in her mind's eye their group planning to break into Umbridge's office, but then she saw Snape tenderly treating her bloody hand in his own classroom. Her heart softened momentarily before she saw her 4th year self, covering her mouth, her eyes filling with tears, as the man looming over her sneered, _"I see no difference._" Then there was Harry with his head in Umbridge's fireplace, only to be quickly replaced with Snape again, snarling down at a bushy haired third year, _"…Must you always be an insufferable know-it-all?"_

The present Hermione relinquished control of her mind. She saw herself sat in a bathroom. The girl cuts her finger and mutters and incantation. Words appear on the page and, without looking, Hermione knows what they say. "_Father: Severus Tobias Snape."_

Her mind went blank. There were no more memories and yet Hermione could still feel Snape's presence. "Professor?" She called out to him in her head. "I'm sorry." She hesitated. "But Harry saw Sirius being tortured by Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries." She paused once more. "Please, Professor. We need your help."

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**AN: So the truth is finally out, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for Snape's reaction. I hope I accurately portrayed the chaos of having many memory flashbacks going on in Hermione's head - I think it's one of those things that is much easier to portray in a film than in words but I did my best. Please review, I love hearing your thoughts and I'm going to need all the encouragement I can get if I'm going to finish writing by Wednesday! Thanks everyone x**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Hello all! I know I drove you all crazy by not giving you Snape's reaction in the last chapter, but have no fear, this chapter will give you all of Snape's perspective, from his primary shock to his secondary freak out. Thank you to everyone who reviewed (I've now had over 200), it honestly makes me giddy with excitement when I read that you guys like the story. Just a quick warning before I go about Severus' bad language later on in the chapter - it's really not his fault, he was very stressed ;) Happy reading...**

* * *

Severus stood frozen. The sight of her, knowing now what she was to him, gave him tunnel vision. He could only see the amber of her irises and could only hear the pounding of the blood pulsing around his ears.

Gradually, he became aware that he was back in a room full of people and could hear an annoying shrieking behind him. It felt like he had been inside Hermione's head for an hour or more looking at her memories, but he knew it could only have been a minute.

"What is it? What's going on? What is she doing?" The irritating questions came without pause. Severus adjusted his expression with care before turning towards the source.

Fixing Umbridge with a cool glare, he spoke with a cold indifference. "Do be careful when you're interrogating them, Headmistress. The ministry tends to ask questions about irreparable damage and I don't know what you've done to the mudblood, but she's clearly gone insane."

He heard a pitiful whimper behind him as he insulted her and felt guilt settle deep in his stomach, but he didn't look back as he swiftly left the office, robes billowing behind him.

He retained his calm exterior all the way down the hall from Umbridge's office and only lost composure once he had rounded the corner. Sure that he could no longer be seen, Snape hurried with the urgency of the situation. He moved swiftly through the corridors of Hogwarts until he came to the stairs by the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where the statue of the one-eyed witch stood serenely. Moving the statue wandlessly to the side with a wave of his hand, Snape unveiled a trap door where the statue had resided and, checking that no-one was watching, proceeded to open the door wide.

Only when he was safely in the secret passageway that led out of Hogwarts and arrived in Hogsmeade, did Snape finally allow his mind to process all he had just seen. He had a _daughter_. More than that; the know-it-all, friend of Harry Potter, Gryffindor princess was _his daughter_. Every part of his body denied the truth of these words, and yet, when he thought logically about all that had happened in the past ten minutes, he knew that not one of the memories he had seen was false.

He had been surprised and confused when she had called out to him, thinking that the Gryffindor trio and friends were just up to their usual trouble-making. But as their eyes locked and hers widened in invitation, he understood what she wanted.

He had walked gently into her mind, careful that neither of them would alert those around them to what was happening. But he hadn't expected what he found inside. In his previous experience of Hermione Granger's consciousness she had been in complete control; calm and collected as she blocked his attack with remarkable skill. In contrast, what he had seen this time was chaos; a whirlwind of emotions, memories and desperation.

He could tell that she was struggling to organise her thoughts and was frantically shuffling the memories around her head to find those which would convey her message. She managed to throw at him a memory of Potter screaming in the Great Hall and he had realised that the boy must have had a vision of some kind. Aware that time was precious Severus had taken over her search. He had felt around for those memories which she had unconsciously marked as important or urgent, or those that carried the greatest emotional attachment.

Then, unexpectedly, he was watching himself in her memories of their various discussions throughout the year. He had been confused by this; he couldn't understand why Granger would hold these memories with such importance. While he had paused in confusion, the girl had managed to show him more of Potter. Now he understood what she was trying to tell him, Potter had seen the mutt being tortured by the Dark Lord. He had started searching again, looking for any more information she might have.

And then he had seen the memory of her surrounded by boxes, and he had read the diary over her shoulder, and the axis of his world had shifted.

Hermione had continued to try and convey her message from Potter, but he batted them away easily. He already understood what had happened and after that last memory all he had wanted to look for were more links to himself. He trawled through more past memories of himself and had finally come across an image which confirmed the diary entry he had seen a few moments ago. In the end, he had read the bloody words with an unanticipated level of calm, '_Father: Severus Tobias Snape._'

Severus came to the end of the secret passageway and opened the small hatch that lead into Honeydukes cellar. Checking quickly that the cellar was empty, he squeezed through and then straightened up and dusted himself off. He cleared his thoughts and focused on his point of apparition. This new revelation would have to wait until later, for now he had other, more urgent, matters to attend to.

* * *

"Black! Black! Where are you?" Severus tore through the house looking for his childhood nemesis.

Throwing open the library door, Severus stopped short as he came across, not Sirius Black, but one Albus Dumbledore.

"Severus? What are you doing here?"

"Where is Black?" Severus demanded, storming into the room.

Albus rose from his seat in concern. "Upstairs with Buckbeak. Why?"

Severus didn't relax. "Are you sure? He's definitely here?" He asked again.

"Of course he's here, Severus." Albus reiterated. "But I'll send for him if you wish?" At Severus' nod Albus flicked his wand and a silver mist flew from the tip and out the door. "Now, whatever is wrong Severus?"

Severus dragged a hand down his face. "Potter had a vision." He drew in a long calming breath. "He saw the Dark Lord torturing Black in the Department of Mysteries."

Albus looked troubled. "He told you this?"

"No. He broke into Umbridge's office to use the Floo and got caught."

"And Umbridge…" Albus began but Severus stopped him with a shake of his head.

"Doesn't know." Albus was about to question this further but at that moment Sirius walked in.

"Albus?" Sirius queried as he walked in, sparing Snape a mere glare of acknowledgement.

"Ah Sirius, you're here. Good, that solves half the problem." Albus replied with a frown.

"Problem?" Sirius asked.

"It appears so, though I don't have all the facts. Severus?" Albus looked over to the fireplace where the Potions Master was stood staring darkly into the flames.

Severus didn't look up as he answered. "I already told you. Potter had a vision of Black being tortured by the Dark Lord."

"He what?!" Sirius exclaimed angrily. "You were supposed to be stopping the visions!"

Dumbledore ignored Sirius. "Severus how did you become involved in this?"

Snape turned away from the fire. "Malfoy called me to Umbridge's office. It appears Potter was using the Floo to see if Black was here or not."

"But I haven't spoken to Harry." Sirius said, concerned.

"But Severus, how did you find this out without Umbridge knowing?" Albus frowned.

He watched as Severus' expression darkened slightly and the raven haired man turned back to the fire. "Miss Granger." He said quietly.

"Hermione?" Albus asked in confusion.

Severus nodded sharply. "She allowed me to use Legilimency."

The old wizard couldn't hide his surprise, his silvery-white eyebrows rising. "She allowed you to enter her mind?"

"Yes." Severus spoke through gritted teeth. "I didn't just force my way in." He turned away as he muttered sullenly under his breath. "I couldn't if I wanted to."

Dumbledore's forehead crinkled in concern. "Okay. At least Umbridge doesn't know about Harry's visions. Severus, what happened after you communicated with Miss Granger?"

"I left immediately to ensure _he_ was still here." He snarled with a nod at Sirius. "Umbridge was still interrogating Potter when I left, though I doubt she'll get anything out of him; I told her there was no Veritaserum left and Potter's too stubborn to tell her anything – even under duress." He remarked dryly.

"You left him there to be tortured?!" Sirius exclaimed angrily.

Snape glared coldly back at him. "In order to check that you were still alive, _Mutt_."

"Enough." Dumbledore snapped. "Sirius, contact the Order. Voldemort must be planning something if he's planting visions in Harry's mind. Severus will go back to Hogwarts and inform Harry that you are safe." Sirius nodded reluctantly and left the room to contact Remus.

"Severus," the wise old wizard turned to his loyal friend, who was once again staring thoughtfully into the fire. "There's something else isn't there? What is it you're not telling me?"

"It's Miss Granger." Severus said quietly.

"What about her?"

"While I was in her head I found out why she's been acting so strangely around me this year." Severus spoke into the flames.

"Oh?" Dumbledore looked interested. "You sound very serious. What's been upsetting her?"

With his back to him, Albus barely made out the quiet words that Severus spoke. "She's my daughter."

Grey eyebrows rose in unconcealed surprise.

"Your what?"

Severus suddenly turned around to look at Dumbledore, eyes wild and frantic. "My daughter. Hermione Granger is my daughter."

Snape seemed to have released his shock along with this admission and became unexpectedly animated, frantically pacing back and forth across the library.

"Good God, Albus, how can this be? How can I suddenly have a 16 year old daughter that I never knew about?"

"Severus, calm down." Albus said firmly. "Sit down and tell me everything."

Severus sank heavily onto the sofa with the weight of his new discovery. He leant forwards, elbows on knees, and rested his head in his hands in despair.

"When I was in her head I saw memories that she didn't really want me to see. Over the summer she found this diary of her mother's which told her that her dad isn't her biological father. And I matched the description of her real father, which explains why she ran away from home and has been behaving oddly all year." Severus looked up towards Dumbledore. "It's true, Albus. She did the prosapia potion and everything. I'm her father."

"Well…" Albus looked for the right words. "Congratulations."

Snape glared up at the beaming old man. "'Congratulations.' Albus have you gone completely mad? This is no time for bloody congratulations!"

Albus held his hands up in surrender. "Forgive me, my boy. I realize this is quite the shock for you. But really this is good news, is it not? _We_ now know why Hermione was so troubled, _she_ now has an extra father and _you_, my dear boy, have a family." His blue eyes twinkled excessively behind half-moon spectacles.

"It's not as simple as that, Albus." Severus spoke with a pained expression. "She _hates_ me. She thinks that _I_ hate _her_." He dropped his head into his hands once more. "Oh God, Albus, I saw all her memories of me. I've been awful to her."

"Severus, look at me." Black eyes met sparkling blue. "Hermione is an intelligent and compassionate young woman with a great capacity for love and forgiveness. If you give her the chance to get to know you, you will have a relationship with your daughter."

Severus didn't answer, but Albus noted the look of hope on his face that hadn't been present before.

"Now, Severus, you must get back to the school. Harry must be informed that Sirius is safe or he'll do something reckless. We'll discuss later how you should go about talking with Hermione."

Severus nodded and got up to leave, but he paused just as he passed through the doorway and turned back. "Thank you, Albus. – For everything."

* * *

Arriving back at Hogwarts, Severus raced back up to Umbridge's office, ready to spin a story that would release Potter into his custody. However, when he opened the ornate oak door that led into the office, the scene that confronted him was rather unexpected.

Eight of his Slytherins were tied to various pieces of furniture around the room. Malfoy was wrapped completely in rope which was then tied off at a table leg, Parkinson was sat in a chair, her wrists bound to the chair arms, and Crabbe and Goyle were merely tied to each other, though their poor co-ordination meant that neither was getting anywhere fast. Snape turned to Malfoy, who was opening and closing his mouth in silent distress, and surmised that a silencing charm had been placed on the lot of them.

"Explain yourselves!" Severus hissed, waving his hand to release Malfoy's vocal chords.

"Professor Umbridge left with Potter and the mudblood, Sir. And…and the rest overpowered us, Sir."

Severus growled in anger. "Explain to me exactly how four unarmed students, two of whom were 4th year girls and one of whom was Neville Bloody Longbottom, were able to overpower _eight_ Slytherins!"

Draco paled slightly. "Well…they had these sweets, you see…and Crabbe and Goyle…only they weren't real sweets and…"

"Silence!" Severus demanded. "You're a disgrace to your house. Now get out." He snarled, waving his wand so that all were released.

As they scurried from the office, Severus stopped Malfoy. "Draco, where did Umbridge go with Potter and Granger?"

"To the Forbidden Forest, Sir. Granger said that's where Dumbledore's secret weapon is hidden." Draco frowned, looking out of the window. "They've been gone a while now though."

"Fine. Leave." Snape responded distractedly and Malfoy hurried after his friends.

Severus thought for a moment and then called out. "Dobby!"

With a pop appeared a small bug-eyed creature with brightly coloured old socks on his feet and a tea cosy askew on his head. Personally, Severus despised the eccentric house-elf, but Albus claimed that he was fiercely loyal to both the school and Harry Potter.

"You'se is calling Dobby, Master Snape Sir?" Dobby squeaked.

Snape nodded. "I need you to locate Potter for me. He should be somewhere in the Forbidden forest and he's probably with Professor Umbridge and Hermione Granger." The house-elf nodded seriously. "Don't approach them if you find them. Just come and tell me where exactly they are. Do you understand?"

"Dobby understands, Sir." And with a pop the house-elf was gone again.

Snape never usually used the Hogwarts house-elves for much, preferring to be self-sufficient, but in this case, he had no time for searching the whole grounds himself and house-elves possessed a magic that he did not.

Less than a minute later and Dobby was back, a worried look on his face. "Master Harry Potter is not being here, Sir." He said.

"You mean he's not in the Forbidden Forest?"

"No, Sir, Harry Potter is not being at Hogwarts at all, Sir." Dobby croaked in concern.

"What?!" Severus exclaimed loudly. "Are you sure? What about the others?"

"The toad woman is still here, Professor Snape Sir."

"Where?"

"She is being with the centaurs, Sir. Though I is thinking she is not being happy with the centaurs."

Severus noted that the otherwise respectful little house-elf looked rather pleased by this fact, and Severus found his own lips quirking up in amusement. 'With any luck they'd kill the bitch' He thought darkly.

"Miss Hermione," a squeaky voice interrupted his reverie. "Is also not being at Hogwarts, Sir."

Severus felt his stomach drop. "And what of Potter's other friends?" He asked.

"Mister Ronald and Mister Neville and Miss Ginevra and Miss Luna is all missing, Master Snape Sir." Dobby informed with a frown.

"Shit." Severus cursed. "Those bloody fools."

He turned back to the brightly coloured elf. "Go to Professor Flitwick and tell him which students are missing and where Umbridge is. Then tell him that I've gone to Albus. Don't speak to anyone else. Understand?"

"Yes, Master Snape Sir."

There was a pop and Severus was alone. He walked briskly over to the fireplace where Potter had been caught not long before and through some Floo Powder into the flames, calling, "Twelve Grimmauld Place."

The flames instantly turned green and Severus stepped through straight into a kitchen full of key Order members. He ignored Weasley, Lupin, Mad-Eye, Tonks and others in favour of one man. "Albus." He said, meeting his eyes. "They've gone."

* * *

**AN: Oh dear, Severus gets a daughter and then she disappears - he really can't catch a break :/ Next chapter Severus and Hermione have their first talk since the truth came out.**

**I had a few requests that Sirius wouldn't die, which I seriously thought about because I love Sirius and I briefly considered him and Snape becoming frenemies of a sort. However, I have decided that I'm going to keep the story as true to the original books as possible, so it is with deep regret that I say I am unable to spare the life of Sirius Black. Sorry!**

**In more bad news, I've decided that I won't be able to finish the fiction before I go away, which does been a 4 day break while I'm in London but also means I'll be able to finish the story properly and not rush it unnecessarily. I realise, in doing this, that some of you won't be best pleased but at least the story will go on for longer. Every cloud and all that.**

**Anyway, I'll update tomorrow afternoon before I go away and I promise not to leave it on a cliffhanger! Thanks everyone x**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Hey all, me again. I expect you're getting sick of hearing from me by now! Anyway, as promised, here's there first SS/HG interaction after the big reveal. Enjoy.**

* * *

Severus paced back and forth across Dumbledore's office, running his hand through his hair every so often as the stress got too much for him. '_This is unbearable_,' Snape thought angrily. '_I can't just sit here waiting for news._' He stormed over to Dumbledore's hidden liquor cabinet and poured himself a healthy measure of scotch to calm his nerves. He was still mad at Albus for forcing him to come back to the school and not allowing him to go to the Department of Mysteries to find his daughter. Logically, he knew that Albus was absolutely right; him turning up to fight for the Order would jeopardize everything they had worked for the past decade and if he revealed to the Deatheaters that Granger was his daughter he would make her a very big target. Nonetheless, right now he was finding it hard to think of anything past his desire to personally go and make sure his daughter was safe. After all, he'd only just found out that he had a daughter, he wasn't going to let her die on him now.

But, Albus had been adamant that Severus could not go, and when he told Severus that their argument was only stopping Albus himself from going to the aid of their students, Severus finally relented and agreed to wait for their return to Hogwarts.

Still, it felt like torture, waiting there alone, not knowing what was going on at the Ministry. At least before he'd had Fawkes as company, but about ten minutes ago, the magnificent bird had disappeared in a flash of flames and smoke, leaving Snape to wallow alone.

Suddenly, the flames of the fireplace turned green and a plethora of wizards and witches in varying states of well-being poured out. Moody was one of the first through, followed by Lovegood and a bloody-nosed Longbottom, and he began to inform Snape of what Dumbledore was taking care of at the Ministry. Severus was instantly distracted though, when Lupin stepped out of the fireplace carrying an unconscious Hermione Granger. He stepped over to them immediately, his heart beating wildly as he looked at her blank, pale face.

"Hermione needs to see Poppy right away. She was hit by Dolohov with some sort of curse." Remus said gravely.

"Give her to me." Severus snapped. "I'll take her down to the hospital wing."

Lupin looked rather taken aback by this, but transferred her carefully into Snape's arms nonetheless.

Once she was safely in his hands, Snape turned and exited the office quickly, walking briskly towards the infirmary. He clutched Hermione close to his chest, knowing that he never wanted to let her go. He was sick with worry about her condition, but at the same time was desperately relieved that his daughter was alive and was in his arms for the first time.

Hermione Granger.

His daughter.

* * *

"Severus?" Snape heard Albus approach behind him but didn't turn away from Hermione, whose hand he still grasped tightly between his own. "How's she doing?" The old man asked kindly, placing a wrinkled hand on his shoulder.

"She still hasn't woken up. Poppy said we just have to wait, that she'll wake up in her own time, but it's been over 36 hours now and she hasn't even stirred." Severus replied, his voice strained with exhaustion and worry.

"Have patience, Severus. She'll wake up when she's ready." Severus only nodded in response, Poppy had told him this repeatedly, albeit rather confused as to why the Potions Master was taking such an interest in the recovery of this one student.

"Her friends are very worried." Dumbledore continued. "They were rather agitated when I spoke to them earlier; something about how their evil Potions Master wouldn't let them visit their friend in the hospital wing." He said pointedly.

Severus scowled. "She's not well enough for visitors."

"And yet, Poppy tells me you've barely left her side since she was admitted." Remarked Albus.

"_I_ am not noisy or boisterous." Severus countered. "Potter and Weasley, on the other hand, are loud, irresponsible and reckless, and should be nowhere near someone who needs peaceful rest, especially when that someone is my daughter."

Dumbledore nodded understandingly. "Very well. You really should get some rest though, Severus. Hermione will still be here when you wake up."

They remained in silence for a few minutes, just looking down at the fragile girl, tucked snugly between cotton sheets and blankets. Dumbledore was just about to leave when Severus spoke again.

"Albus, what if she doesn't forgive me? Or worse, what if she does forgive me and then I screw it up?"

"Severus, you're a good man and Hermione is an intelligent girl. The two of you will work this out together. Just…give it time. Be patient."

_Right_. Thought Severus. _Patience._ He could do that.

* * *

Hermione rolled over in bed and then groaned in pain. Her chest really hurt but she couldn't quite remember why. Slowly, she pushed her body back so she was lying flat again and blinked her eyes open. Looking around blearily, Hermione established that she was in the hospital wing. This wasn't particularly surprising given her aching body and pounding head, but Hermione was surprised when she looked to her right and saw her potions professor asleep in a chair by her bed. His body was slumped down into a cosy looking armchair, which had presumably been transfigured from the rickety, wooden chair which usually stood in that spot. His cloak was draped over the back of the chair and he slept with his black frock coat open, revealing the white shirt beneath. Hermione tilted her head curiously at him. She couldn't remember a time when Professor Snape looked this vulnerable; he was only ever defensive and in control. Now, however, he didn't have his guard up; his mouth had fallen open slightly and his forehead was creased into a troubled expression.

Hermione turned away and looked back up at the ceiling. She really didn't want to be here when he woke up. She knew he wouldn't be pleased that she had kept her discovery from him. She knew he'd be mad about the way he'd found out. She knew he wouldn't want to be burdened with a daughter and she knew she couldn't take the rejection.

Sunlight was peeking into the room around the curtain edges and Hermione looked at the clock on the bedside table next to her, which read 6.00. That meant she could go up to Gryffindor Tower now, have a shower and be dressed in time for breakfast in the Great Hall.

Slowly, Hermione sat upright, her chest protesting every movement. She swung her legs to the side, off of the bed and pushed herself up onto her feet. The stone floor was cold on her bare feet and, after her head had acclimatized to its new height, Hermione began searching for some footwear. In the cupboard beside her bed she managed to find some fluffy slippers and also found her cloak folded neatly inside awaiting her departure from the infirmary. She pulled the cloak on over her night gown and was just turning to leave when she was startled by a voice behind her.

"And just where exactly do you think you're going?"

Hermione spun around quickly, causing her to wince as pain flared again across her chest. Professor Snape stood in front of the armchair where he had been sleeping a moment before, his lips pursed in disapproval and one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"P-Professor Snape! Er – I was just going to g-go up to my – my dorm…" She said nervously.

"Miss Granger, you are in no position to go anywhere. You will get back into bed and you will stay there until Madam Pomfrey says you are well enough to leave."

"Honestly, Professor, there's no need. I'm fine, really." Hermione responded hopefully. She really hated being stuck in the hospital wing.

"Miss Granger," Snape drawled dangerously as he moved towards her. "You were hit by a curse that would have killed you had Dolohov not been silenced when he cast it. You have been unconscious for two full days and you are clearly still in pain. You are most certainly not 'fine.'" He said sharply.

Hermione didn't say a word as he approached and gently put a hand behind her elbow so he could pull her back towards the bed.

"You will get back into bed." He said, his voice much softer but still firm.

In silence, she allowed him to remove her cloak and then pull back the blankets on the bed so she could get in. She did so obediently, without making eye contact. Once she was sat up in bed she looked down at her hands which were nervously smoothing out the blanket beneath.

"Don't worry, Professor, you can leave, I won't be offended. I realise you'd rather be elsewhere. I mean, you're probably tired or…hungry…or busy. I'm alright on my own anyway." Hermione said quietly.

She'd expected him to nod and leave briskly after that, so she was startled when he suddenly moved to perch on the edge of the bed. He twisted his body to face her and reached out, placing his fingers beneath her chin and tilting her face so she was forced to look at him.

"Hermione," he said in a tone of voice gentler than she'd ever heard him use. "You're my _daughter_." He stressed. "There is nowhere else that I would rather be than here."

Hermione didn't know where they came from but suddenly tears were flowing freely down her cheeks and she couldn't seem to stop them falling. She wiped at the tears hopelessly with her hands and sniffed ungracefully. Then suddenly her face was resting on his shoulder and she was wrapped in his embrace while he hushed her and tenderly stroked her hair.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry."

They stayed like that for a while as Hermione calmed down and then pulled apart. Severus moved back and transfigured the armchair into its original wooden form before dragging it closer to the hospital bed. Nervously, Hermione looked up into his eyes, unsure of what to say.

"Hermione, why didn't you tell me?" Severus asked earnestly.

She looked away, unable to meet his eye.

"Hermione?" He pressed.

"I thought you hated me." She mumbled quietly.

Severus shook his head dejectedly. "Hermione, I've said some horrible things to you in the past. If I could go back and change it now, I'd do so in a heartbeat. There are things I never should have said, even if you hadn't turned out to be my daughter. Please believe me when I say that I am deeply sorry."

Unable to accurately express how she felt, Hermione only nodded.

"When I told you – showed you." She corrected. "I – I thought that you didn't believe me, or else refused to accept it…Refused to accept me."

"Hermione," Severus responded seriously. "I didn't mean what I said in Umbridge's office. I had to keep my cover but I swear to God I never meant it. Hermione, you're my daughter, of course I accept you. I love you."

Hermione's eyes began to fill with tears once more. "You love me?"

Severus' mouth lifted into a small smile. "Yes. Don't ask me how it's possible to suddenly love another human being so unconditionally so quickly. But I know for a fact that I do. I've been going out of my mind waiting for you to wake up."

Hermione beamed back at him and leaned forward to embrace her new found father, only as she did so her chest protested sharply and Hermione yelped out in pain.

Severus immediately helped her to lay flat and frowned disapprovingly at her. "You've been moving around too much. You need to be resting, not jumping about." He said sternly.

"I was hardly 'jumping about.'" Hermione reasoned.

"Nor were you sleeping like you should have been." He countered. "Go back to sleep now. You have a few hours before Madam Pomfrey makes her rounds. I'll see you again when you've awoken." With that he turned to leave but he stopped when he heard her speak again.

"Thank you, Professor."

Severus felt himself smile again. "Sleep well, Hermione."

* * *

**AN: N'aww a bit of sugar and sweetness for you there, but fear not angst-lovers of the world, there's still a bit more tension, drama and arguing to come. **

**That's your lot now until Monday. Trust me I will miss it just as much as you, but I shall sustain myself on all the reviews you give me :) Btw I am still intending to reply to some of the reviews from the last chapter I just haven't had time as yet. **

**So, have a good weekend everyone (I know I will, I'm seeing Les Mis in the West End! ;D ) and I'll see you all soon. x**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: Hi everyone, I have a few things to mention but if you can't be bothered to read my ramblings by all means skip to the good stuff. That's what you're here for after all :)**

1. Firstly, please allow me to apologise profusely for the lateness of this chapter. I said it was going to be up on Monday and it's now Wednesday so I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting. My lateness is caused by a number of reasons. One being that my mum surprised us with a trip to the Harry Potter studios on Sunday so we got back later than expected and another reason being that it took me ages to write this chapter because there's quite a few conversations that I wanted to get in. So I am very sorry but hopefully this nice long chapter will make you forgive me.

2. Secondly, I told you previously that I wasn't going to save Sirius, purely because it didn't fit in with my original plan for the story. However, I have since decided that Sirius won't have died at the ministry - purely because it's more convenient for me, the writer :) So for now Sirius lives, though I don't make any promises that he will stay that way, he may not even make it to the sequel - sorry!

**Ok, I think that's everything I wanted to mention, thank you for all the reviews, favourites and follows and enjoy the latest instalment of ATBLU, where everyone finds out...**

* * *

"Hermione! You're awake." Hermione's quiet breakfast was interrupted by Ron and Harry rushing into the hospital wing.

"We've been so worried about you. You've been unconscious for ages." Ron continued as he and Harry plopped themselves unceremoniously onto the bed, either side of Hermione.

"Yeah, I only woke up this morning, but I'm feeling fine." Hermione smiled back, looking at each of her best friends in turn. Ron looked as content as ever as he casually stole a piece of toast from Hermione's abandoned breakfast plate. Harry, however, looked tired and subdued.

"I'm really sorry, Hermione." He said earnestly. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't been tricked by Voldemort and forced you all to come with me to the Ministry, you'd never have been cursed." Harry's expression was painted with the guilt he felt at being the indirect cause of his friend's injury.

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. This isn't your fault." Hermione replied seriously. "You're not the first person to be tricked by Voldemort, and we tried everything we could to check before we went. Besides, you didn't force us to go. If anything, we forced you to take us with you." She concluded firmly.

"Yeah, mate." Ron piped up. "We already told you, we won't let you face all this alone."

Harry nodded, filled with emotion at his friends' unwavering pledge of support. When he did speak, it was in a strained but determined voice. "There's something I need to tell you guys."

Both Ron and Hermione looked at him expectantly and made encouraging gestures for him to continue.

"The prophecy we found – the one Voldemort wanted – it was a prophecy about me and him. After we left the Ministry, Dumbledore finally told me what he knew about it." Hermione listened keenly as Harry continued, having heard nothing since waking up about what had happened after she was hit in the battle.

Harry took a calming breath. "I suppose it only confirmed what we already knew, really. That it's down to me and _him_ in the end. One of us had got to kill the other. 'Neither can live while the other survives.'" He quoted from the prophecy.

The trio were quiet for a long time, though the silence was neither awkward nor uncomfortable. It was instead a pensive and thoughtful quiet; a calmness that reflected the inevitability of this revelation.

Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "We'll stand beside you, Harry. You won't be alone in this. We'll be there when you need us and we'll fight for what's right."

Harry looked to Ron for concurrence and found the red-head nodding his agreement vigorously.

"Thanks guys. I honestly don't think I would have made it this far if it wasn't for you two." Harry said with heartfelt sincerity.

Ron shrugged casually. "That's what friends are for."

For another few minutes they talked about more trivial things; things which could be discussed by any average group of magical teenagers, and then Ron and Harry were telling Hermione about everything that had happened while she was unconscious and the three were soon laughing about Umbridge's spectacular fall from grace.

Finally, Ron asked, "So 'Mione, when d'you think Madam Pomfrey will let you out?"

"I'm not sure. I was hoping she would let me out today so I could get back to classes, but she seemed pretty reluctant." Hermione said, showing every bit of disappointment she felt at being denied school work.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Hermione, anyone else would love the excuse to get out of classes."

"Well I'm not everyone and I actually happen to enjoy going to classes." Hermione said pointedly. "Especially since a certain evil professor has been removed from the school." The others laughed heartily and agreed that it certainly made the prospect of returning to lessons much more pleasant.

"Speaking of evil professors," Harry then said seriously. "Snape wouldn't let us see you at all while you were unconscious."

Hermione stayed quiet and looked down at her hands nervously.

"Yeah, the greasy git went completely mental at us every time we tried to visit." Ron added.

Harry noticed Hermione's apprehensive expression and eyed her suspiciously. "Hermione, what's going on with you and Snape?"

Hermione looked up, wide eyed and anxious, but said nothing.

"There is something isn't there? You've been acting weird around each other all year. What aren't you telling us?" Harry pressed.

Hermione nodded slowly. "There is something, yes." She began hesitantly, unsure where to begin. "Harry, I told you before that I discovered something during the summer holidays…" She paused to see Harry nodding warily. "Well, what I discovered is that Snape is my…my biological father."

Tears filled her eyes as she spoke her secret aloud for the first time, terrified that her first true friends would reject her for this aspect of life beyond her control. She looked between the two boys in front of her. Ron was gaping like a fish and Harry sat perfectly still.

"Bloody hell!" Ron was the first to break the silence but managed no more than the expletive expression of his shock.

"You've known all year? And you didn't tell us?" Harry spoke quietly, his face showing clearly his sense of betrayal.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said tearfully. "I thought that if I just ignored it, then it would go away; that nobody would ever know and I could go on living as normal."

"But you didn't. You changed this year." Harry said softly.

"I know. I couldn't help it, but I craved his approval. And yet, whenever he showed any kind of care towards me, I resented him for it."

"So, does he know now?" Ron asked, his forehead creased in a thoughtful frown.

She nodded. "I had to use Legilimency in Umbridge's office to tell him what we thought about Sirius, but I couldn't Occlude what I didn't want him to see at the same time."

The two boys nodded in understanding and silence reigned again for a few more moments.

"So, what now?" Harry asked.

"I'm not really sure." Hermione answered truthfully. "We spoke this morning. He was…nice. Don't get me wrong." She said hastily at their disbelieving faces. "He was still a snarky git. But, he seemed to genuinely want things to work out between us." She sighed heavily. "I honestly don't know what happens next. I mean, I already have a dad and this whole thing will have to be kept secret because of the war anyway."

"Hermione," Harry began earnestly. "You're my friend and I'll support you no matter what, but, I don't care what Dumbledore says, I don't trust Snape."

"I know, Harry." Hermione sighed. "Look, I really don't think Snape is on their side, but that doesn't mean I trust him either. All I ask is that you guys try not to antagonize things with him. Please, for me?"

The boys agreed with a minimal degree of reluctance. Ron scooted closer and threw an arm around Hermione's shoulders. "We'll be here for you 'Mione, whatever you need. And if the big bat of the dungeons ever hurts you, you can count on us to hex him into oblivion." He said with a grin.

Hermione chuckled. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

* * *

"Ah, Miss Granger, you're up." Albus Dumbledore glided into the room with a beaming smile.

Hermione smiled warmly back. "Good morning, Professor Dumbledore."

"How are you feeling?"

"Well enough to go to lessons." Hermione answered hopefully.

The headmaster chuckled. "I'm sure. Unfortunately, I think we'll have to wait for Madam Pomfrey's approval for that, or else both our heads will roll!"

Hermione shrugged. "It was worth a try."

"Of course." The old man said jovially, pulling up a chair. "Now, I was wondering if I might have a little chat with you Miss Granger?"

"Well it doesn't look as if I'm going anywhere does it?" Hermione said rather bluntly, but waved her hand for the headmaster to begin nonetheless.

"I hear you spoke to Professor Snape in the early hours of this morning?"

Hermione nodded. "I take it he's told you everything then." She asked in response.

"Yes, he did. He was rather agitated, you see, when he found that you were no longer at Hogwarts and it appeared that you had gone to the Ministry to fight Deatheaters."

Hermione nodded again in understanding. "Yeah, he did seem pretty stressed this morning."

Albus chuckled softly. "I think, had you seen him when you returned to the school unconscious, you would agree that 'pretty stressed' is rather an understatement."

"He was really that worried about me?"

"Of course. He was terrified of losing you." Dumbledore said gravely.

"But he hates me."

"Nonsense!" Contradicted Dumbledore. "Professor Snape has always respected your intelligence, your diligence and your courage, even if he didn't always show it. And I can guarantee that he now feels terrible about every time he treated you poorly. I'm sure he'll be back here with you just as soon as he gets his lessons covered."

Hermione frowned thoughtfully but didn't say anything more.

"Hermione, is this why you never said anything about what you had discovered? Because you thought, Professor Snape didn't care about you?"

"That was a big part of it, I guess." She replied honestly. "There was also a fair bit of denial. I mean, how can we be related? We're nothing alike!"

"Perhaps not in looks." Albus said wisely. "But in other things I think there is a great deal that you and Professor Snape share. You are both highly academic and studious. You both have a sharp tongue, if I may say so, and you're both incredibly loyal to those you care about. You also possess a few mannerisms that I believe may have been inherited from your biological father."

Hermione raised a questioning eyebrow and Albus laughed heartily as his point was proven.

"There is another thing, Miss Granger." Albus continued when his laughter had subsided. "It is of great importance that your relationship with Professor Snape remains a secret."

"I've already told Ron and Harry, Sir."

"Of course, I wouldn't expect you to keep this from them, and there will also be a few select Order members that are told, including Professor McGonagall, for security reasons. But beyond that, it is imperative, for the safety of you both, that no one knows the truth."

"I understand, Professor. There's no one else I would want to tell anyway."

Dumbledore looked as if he was going to say something else, but at that moment the hospital wing doors opened and Professor Sprout strolled into the room, followed by a worried looking Mr and Mrs Granger.

"Miss Granger's parents are here Professor Dumbledore." The plump witch informed, gesturing to the muggles who stood feeling very out of place.

"Ah, excellent." Dumbledore clapped his hands together jovially, but then appeared to pause as he turned to Hermione. "I assume you're ok with this?"

"Yes." She assured. "I think we need to talk anyway."

Dumbledore nodded and left with Professor Sprout, allowing the family to have some time alone.

"Oh Hermione, what's happened to you?" Her mum asked in a motherly tone as they took up seats beside her bed.

"Oh um…it's nothing really. I just reacted badly to a spell." Hermione said, unsure of what she could say without making her parents hysterical.

Her dad frowned in concern. "The headmaster said in his letter that it was something to do with this Voldemort fellow again."

"Yeah, well, there was a bit of a fight, but it's all over now." Hermione reassured quickly.

Hermione's parents looked rather unconvinced by this but decided that further investigations could wait until they were more assured of Hermione's good health.

"So they can treat you properly here, can they?" Jean Granger asked. "You don't need to go to a proper hospital or anything?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, mum, it's –" She stopped short as the door to the hospital wing opened and she caught sight of Professor Snape, who walked a good three paces into the room before he realised that Hermione had company.

Suddenly seeing Hermione's mother, Severus froze, looking rapidly between Hermione's panicked stricken face and that of her mother. Jean Granger, following Hermione's gaze looked around to the entrance way where a new man had appeared and then gasped.

"My God…" She whispered in shock.

Her reaction snapped Severus out of his trance and he managed to force words from his throat. "Er...sorry…you have company…I'll come back later." He stumbled over the words but turned sharply on his heel and exited the room gracefully, leaving the awkward tension behind him.

Hermione turned to her mother, who was still staring open mouthed at the door through which Snape had just exited.

"Mum?" Hermione tried to gain her attention but her mother continued to look towards the open door.

"He…he can't be…" Hermione's mother turned wide eyed towards her daughter's troubled face. "My God, you know, don't you?"

Hermione nodded slowly.

"Oh Hermione. I'm so sorry." Her mother whispered.

"What? What's going on?" Mr Granger looked between his wife and daughter in confusion.

Hermione looked towards her father and spoke sombrely, "I found out that you're not my biological father." Her dad said nothing, so she continued. "I read mum's old diary and then I left because I was angry at you both for lying to me about it."

"Oh Hermione." Mr Granger said, his voice filled with regret. "We never meant for you to find out that way. I'm really sorry we didn't tell you the truth sooner." He picked up his daughter's hand and held it in his own. "But you have to believe me when I say that it never made a difference to me. As far as I'm concerned you are my daughter and I will always love you as such."

"I know Dad. I love you too."

"I don't understand how he's here?" Hermione's mother questioned.

"He's a teacher here, Mum. The man you met was a wizard. Your 'Severus' is my Professor Severus Snape." Hermione explained softly.

"So you know him?" Mr Granger clarified.

"Yep. Professor Snape has been teaching me potions for 5 years without knowing that he was teaching his own daughter."

"Have you told him?"

Hermione nodded. "It all came out, just before the fight broke out. We've only spoken once since." She said hesitantly, unsure how her parents would feel about this new third parent.

"Hermione," Her dad spoke gently, seeing his daughter's discomfort. "You can have as much or as little to do with him as you like. If you want to have a relationship with your biological father, then we'll support you completely."

Hermione heaved a big sigh of relief that her parents were being so supportive; it at least solved one problem if her parents were happy with however she chose to go forward.

"Thanks Dad. And just so you know, no matter what happens with me and Snape, you'll always be my Dad."

Mr Granger beamed with happiness and pulled his daughter into his arms, holding her tight to his chest, reluctant to ever let his little girl go even though she had just shown that she had the heart and mind of a woman.

* * *

Having fled the hospital wing hastily, Severus eventually found a bench against a wall a few corridors away that he dropped heavily onto. He placed his head in his hands and rested his elbows on his knees, praying that no student would disturb his solitude.

He must have stayed that way for nearly an hour, thinking about everything and nothing, until he heard voices approaching. He didn't look up, recognising that the voices weren't child-like, but as he heard them round the corner, the voices stopped. A second later they restarted but this time only in hushed tones, presumably to prevent Severus from hearing their discussion. He heard footsteps walk away and assumed that they had both left, but was startled a second later when a woman appeared in front of him.

He looked up and saw the same amber eyes that had come to mean so much in the last few days. The woman before him was an almost exact replica of Hermione, from the curve of her jaw to her button nose. She was roughly the same height as Hermione, though he knew the girl was yet to stop growing, and they shared the same unruly locks, though this woman had contained hers in some sort of clip at the back of her neck.

"May I join you, Severus?" The woman asked politely and he merely nodded his assent.

Now she sat, Severus looked closer at her face and noticed that there were subtle differences between this woman and her daughter. Her lips were too plump to be Hermione's and her cheekbones weren't as high. Still, the differences weren't so great that a stranger would hesitate to assume they were mother and daughter if they were walking down the street and Severus noted that the woman before him held herself with a composure that he had often seen Hermione exhibit previously.

"How are you feeling?" Jean Granger asked kindly.

Severus, surprised by her question, only frowned in confusion.

"I mean, I can imagine that it would be quite a shock to learn that you have a 16 year old daughter, and to find out that she's someone you've been teaching, and then for that daughter to end up unconscious all in the space of a few days." She gave a small smile.

Severus chuckled slightly. "Yes it's certainly been a shock."

Jean reached out at tapped him reassuringly on his knee. "Don't worry. Once you get over the shock you'll see that it's not so bad getting an unexpected daughter when that daughter is Hermione."

He looked up to see her face beaming with motherly pride. "Yeah, I think I'm starting to get that."

"Anyway," Mrs Granger said briskly. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about you not knowing about Hermione. I would have contacted you if I had any way of doing so. I mean, I didn't even know your surname!"

"It's fine." Said Severus genuinely. "I know there's no way you could have found me. We both knew it was a one-time thing. And I'm sorry that I wasn't more careful and that you ended up being pregnant and alone."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Jean replied sincerely. "It takes two to tango and besides, you never have to apologise to me for doing something that led to me getting Hermione, she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. And then I found Michael, my husband, anyway, so I wasn't alone for long and he's always treated Hermione as his own."

Severus decided to ignore the twinge in his chest that came from knowing that another man took his place as Hermione's father, and instead chose to concentrate on the fact that she had someone who loved and protected her when he wasn't there.

"You did a good job raising her." Severus said honestly. "She's a good kid. Intelligent too."

Mrs Granger gave a wide smile once again. "Thank you, though she must get her intelligence from you. Michael and I may be dentists but we're certainly not as bright as Hermione is."

Jean touched his arm gently. "You'll be a good parent too, Severus."

Severus looked at her disbelievingly. "How could you possibly know?"

"Because you care about her. I can tell." She replied resolutely. "Besides, I think having a magical parent is just what Hermione needs right now."

Severus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not naïve to the fact that there is a lot Michael and I will never understand about this world. We've always been supportive about Hermione being a witch, but it's hard to be a good parent when you don't understand half of what your child says."

Severus nodded understandingly as Jean continued. "The first time I visited Hogwarts was when Hermione was in second year, and it was the most terrifying experience I've ever had. My only daughter was lying unconscious and I didn't have a clue what was going on. Objects were moving, seemingly by themselves, and the portraits on the walls were talking to us like it was perfectly normal."

"I imagine that would have been quite alarming." Severus said sympathetically.

"You have no idea. What I'm saying is, there is a whole massive chunk of Hermione's life that we have no clue about. And I'm not stupid; I know there's more stuff going on here than Hermione tells us. I think she plays down a lot of what's happened to her here because she doesn't want us to worry and most of the time there's nothing we can do but except her explanation of stuff. So, I think it's a good thing that Hermione finally has someone who is looking out for her in this part of her world."

Severus looked at the mother of his child with a troubled expression. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to be able to keep her safe." He said, thinking of his dangerous role as a spy for the Order.

"Severus, do you love her?" Jean asked simply.

"Yes." He replied without hesitation

"Then _I_ trust that you're the best person to keep Hermione safe." She smiled with the same warmth that Hermione had obviously inherited. "Trust me."

* * *

**AN: Ok folks, that's it for today. I have one more chapter to go (and possibly an epilogue depending on how it fits with the next chapter) which will probably be up on Friday. Thank you for reading and please feel free to review (they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside ;) ) Bye! x**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Ok, I'm not going to say very much as I haven't been well recently and I'm literally falling asleep as I type, but I do want to apologise profusely for the big gap between this and the previous chapter. This unforgivable delay was caused by a combination of a broken laptop, a week's camping and flu, so despite my best intentions it's taken me ages to get this chapter too you. I really have hated being so unreliable, but I promise not to do it again! **

**In exchange for your forgiveness (and also because it's convenient for me) I will not be finishing on this chapter as previously suggested and will instead be adding a brief epilogue which should be up within the week.**

**Many thanks for your patience and the reviews for the last chapter, which were lovely as usual. Happy reading...**

* * *

Snape strolled into the hospital wing and was surprised to find Hermione out of bed and dressed. She was facing away from him and appeared to be packing her school bag with an unnecessary amount of books. Too engaged in her task to notice his approach, he cleared his throat as he drew close and she whipped around sharply, riglets flying widly about her head as she did so.

"Professor," She said, her eyes wide. "You startled me."

Severus rose a dark eyebrow at her flustered state. "Obviously." He drawled. "I hope, for your sake, that you have Madam Pompfrey's permission to be out of bed."

Hermione smiled. "You think I'd dare if she hadn't? I may have faced Death Eaters but I'm not suicidal enough to cross madam Pompfrey." She quipped.

Severus frowned at how flippantly she talked of facing Death Eaters but decided to let it pass without saying anything.

"Anyway, she said I could leave this afternoon, so I've packed up my books ready for when Harry and Ron come visit after Transfiguration." Hermione continued happily.

Severus tried not to scowl at the girl's mention of her idiotic friends and again held his tongue, choosing instead to change the subject.

"I apologize for not visiting you yesterday. I didn't want to interrupt your time with your parents and when I returned later on in the day, you were asleep."

"Yeah," She picked at a thread on the sleeve of her jumper. "Well after my parents left, Madam Pompfrey came around complaining that the hospital wing had turned into Piccadilly Circus. She said I should be resting not entertaining guests and proceeded to give me a heavy dose of sleeping potion." Hermione said, one half of her face lifting up into a wry smile.

Severus nodded. "She was right. You had far too many visitors yesterday when you should have been resting." He said with a disapproving glare, but Hermione only rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of visitors," Hermione then said with a slight edge to her voice. "Harry and Ron told me that you wouldn't let them see me while I was unconscious." She accused.

"That is correct." Severus said, his voice deep and unapologetic, causing the annoyance on Hermione's face to grow more pronounced.

"Well you shouldn't have! They're my friends, they have a right to visit me when I'm ill or…" She waved her hand around carelessly as she searched for the appropriate words. "Otherwise incapacitated."

"_Friends?"_ Severus growled angrily. "_I_ do not consider those who would carelessly lead you into perilous danger to be your _friends_."

Hermione's cheeks flushed red as her irritation turned to anger. "I was not _led_ like some helpless sheep. It was my choice to go to the ministry and it's certainly not Harry and Ron's fault that I got injured." She snapped.

"Please," Severus scoffed. "You wouldn't get into half as much trouble as you do if you didn't constantly follow around those two glory-seeking idiots."

"Those are my friends, you're talking about." Hermione ground out through gritted teeth. "And the fact that I will always stand beside them when they are in danger does not mean that I recklessly follow them into trouble."

"I don't care what your childish motives are," Severus' voice became low, silky and dangerous. "It stops now. You will cease your involvement with Potter and Weasley before they get you into any more trouble."

Hermione's eyes flashed furiously. "Who the hell do you think you are? You can't dictate who I'm friends with!"

"I'm your father. And if I think that someone is a bad influence on you, I have every right to end your relationship with them." Severus insisted sternly.

Hermione glared at him coldly. "I think you'll find that I already have a dad. So you and your misplaced authority can just shove off." She turned back to her bag and swung it over her shoulder angrily, before spinning around to face him again. "I guess I'll go wait for my **friends** in the common room after all."

With that parting statement she stormed past him out of the hospital wing, her face livid and her hair flying wildly behind her.

* * *

Harry looked again at Hermione in concern; she'd barely touched her food and her eyes were still red and watery. It didn't matter what Harry and Ron said in their attempts to console her, she was still upset about her argument with Snape. Feeling Ron kick him under the table, Harry looked up and followed his friend's gaze to the staff table. Harry instantly found Snape, who was staring at them intently. As he caught Harry's eye, Snape scowled and Harry glared back, angry at the Professor for trying to stop them being friends with Hermione, but even more angry that he upset her in the process. 'Stupid git.' Harry thought clearly in his mind, hoping for once that the Professor was using Legilimency on him and would hear exactly what he thought of him.

Snape shifted his stare from the frowning Potter back to Hermione, who was still yet to take more than three bites of steak pie. He cursed under his breath, furious with himself for screwing up the whole parenting thing so quickly. Only yesterday had the girl's mother said that she trusted him to look after their daughter and today he was making said daughter cry. Not that he'd changed his mind about what he'd said. He still fully believed that those boys were a bad influence on his daughter and he wanted her to have nothing more to do with them, but he could admit to himself that he hadn't handled the situation very well. The truth was, he just hadn't expected the conversation to escalate so quickly; one minute they were calmly discussing her health and the next she was saying that she didn't want him as a father.

"Severus," Snape looked to his left to see Dumbledore learning forward so that he could speak around Minerva. "I think it might be wise to have a little meeting with Miss Granger after dinner this evening."

Severus sighed. He would really rather have done this with as little interference from the headmaster as possible, but he supposed the old wizard might be able to reach the teenage girl in a way that he could not. Severus nodded his agreement solemnly. "If you think it prudent, Headmaster."

"Yes, Severus." Albus replied, eyes twinkling. "I think it highly '_prudent_.'"

As dinner was nearing its natural conclusion, a light tap on Hermione's arm drew her attention to a timid looking first year behind her. She turned and looked in confusion at the the small girl who wore her mousy-brown hair in low bunches on either side of her delicately freckled face and seemed unable to from any words in the presence of the older students. In answer to Hermione's puzzled expression, the girl thrust out her hand which held a small parchment note and let out a tiny whisper, "From Professor Dumbledore." As soon as Hermione had taken the note from her hand, its deliverer scurried away, obviously not expecting the note to warrant a reply, or at least not a reply that she would be required to deliver.

The note that Hermione now held opened itself as soon as it recognised that it was in the hands of its intended reader and Hermione looked down to read the elegant script.

'_Miss Granger,_

_Please join us in my office at your earliest convenience._

_Regards, A. P. W. B. Dumbledore'_

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was literally the last thing she wanted to have to do. Why couldn't the teachers at this damn school ever leave her alone?

"'Mione? Are you ok?" She heard Ron ask gently by her side. She opened her eyes but merely passed him the note in answer.

Ron and Harry quickly read the note together and then looked back at their friend in concern and sympathy.

"Well that sucks." Ron said bluntly and Hermione nodded solemnly in agreement.

"You know you don't have to go." Harry offered comfortingly. "It says to go at your earliest convenience. Just tell them it wasn't convenient." He shrugged. "Screw Dumbledore."

Hermione considered it for a moment but then shook her head. "No, I can't keep avoiding the issue. I promised myself that I would start facing this whole thing maturely. Besides, they'd only come and fetch me."

The boys had to agree, it didn't look as though she had much option other than to go and hear them out.

"We'll go with you, 'Mione." Harry said firmly. "And we'll wait outside until you're done."

"Yeah." Ron agreed. "So just leave if they start talking crap. After all, they can make you go, but they can't force you to stay." He concluded with a smug grin and Hermione couldn't help but grin back.

* * *

"Tea, Miss Granger?" The headmaster offered warmly as Hermione sat in the comfortable chair he had indicated she should take.

"No, thank you, Professor." She responded politely, sneaking a glance at Professor Snape who was frowning severely at Professor Dumbledore as if the old man's pleasantries were causing him physical pain.

"Very well." Dumbledore said, placing the tea pot back on its matching tray. "Let's get started then, shall we?" He asked rhetorically, though Professor Snape still mumbled gruffly, "I wish you would."

Dumbledore pointedly ignored his comment and spoke directly to his favoured student. "Now, Miss Granger, there are just a few things that we need to discuss regarding the current situation."

"I've already said that I won't tell anyone else." Hermione interrupted, pre-empting the reason for her summons.

"Anyone _else_? Foolish girl! How many people have you already told?" Snape snarled, his previous annoyance with the girl returning.

"I've only told my parents and Harry and Ron. I wasn't going to keep hiding it from them if you, Dumbledore and half the Order know. They are my _friends_, after all." She said scathingly back.

Now they both sat swivelled in their chairs so they could glare more easily at one another.

"Not for much longer if I have anything to do with it." Severus growled.

"Well you don't have anything to do with it." Hermione sassed back. "It's none of your God damn business!"

Severus was fuming, but fortunately Albus decided it was time for him to intervene. "Now Severus, be reasonable. Those three have been friends for five years; you can't expect Hermione to stop being friends with them now just because you disapprove. After all, they've been through a lot together.

Severus dragged a long-fingered hand down his pale face and took a calming breath. He took a moment to look up to the ceiling and then returned his gaze to his daughter. "It is not your friendship that I object to, merely the resulting danger it puts you in."

Hermione nodded understandingly. "But I can't help that being Harry's friend puts me in danger. – The same way I can't help that being your daughter makes me a potential target."

"No, but we are taking precautions by limiting who knows about our relationship. Similarly there are precautions you could take whilst remaining friends with Potter."

"Like what? You want me to pretend not to be friends with Harry?" Hermione asked, exasperated.

"No, but you could stop needlessly putting yourself in danger; running off to the Ministry to fight Death Eaters, for example." Severus drawled. "I don't mind you being on good terms with Potter, but I want you to stop actively helping in his fight against the Dark Lord." He looked at her intensely. "I waited hours for you while you were under attack at the ministry, not knowing whether you were dead or alive. I won't be put through that again."

For a few moments Hermione didn't speak, nor make any reaction at all, other than to look directly back at him. Her expression was completely blank as Severus looked for any indication in her face that might reveal what she was thinking inside.

"No." She finally said; simple, quiet, firm.

"No?" Severus repeated in question.

"No." She reiterated more definitely. "I will not sit back and watch while others fight, and die, for the cause on my behalf." She took a deep breath. "Look, it's not like we're looking for a fight, and we know we're not going to be active Order members until we leave school, or at least until we're of age. But I won't promise that if an emergency arises I won't do everything in my power to help, because I will. I know we disagree in our views about the role of young people in this war, but I will always stand up for my friends and my beliefs and you can't stop me."

"I'm your father." Severus responded quietly.

Hermione threw her hands up in exasperation. "That doesn't mean anything! My mum and dad are still my legal guardians."

"Actually, Miss Granger," Dumbledore interrupted the conversation again. "That is one of the reasons that I called you here this evening."

"Why?" Hermione asked in confusion.

"Your parents have agreed that while you are at Hogwarts or otherwise in the magical world, Severus will act as your guardian." Dumbledore revealed.

"What?!" Hermione was aghast.

"I spoke to your mother." Severus explained calmly. "She feels that you need someone looking out for your best interests while you are in the magical world, seeing as there is so much they don't understand."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"It's nothing to worry about Miss Granger." Dumbledore said kindly. "It simply means that Hogwarts will regard Severus as being responsible for you. For example, if Professor McGonagall were to have any concerns about your school work or your behaviour, she would inform Severus instead of your parents. It would then be his decision whether to deal with the issue himself or speak to your parents. The other teachers don't know about your relationship but they have to go through your Head of House anyway, so that isn't a problem."

Hermione was stunned. "I can't believe they would do this." She said, her tone reflecting her disbelief, though she knew it must be true. "This is such bullshit." She groused, slumping back down into her chair in defeat.

"Language." Severus warned with a stern look.

Hermione huffed and pushed herself off of the chair onto her feet. "Whatever. Just do what you like. I don't care anymore."

Severus watched as she walked out of the Headmaster's office, not bothering to call her back. He sank down into his chair, closing his eyes, and rubbed his temples with one hand. This wasn't getting any easier and Severus was beginning to wonder if they'd ever have a conversation that didn't descend into an argument.

Opening his eyes, he saw Albus observing him with sympathy. "That girl is impossible." Severus grumbled.

Albus chuckled. "Nonsense. She's just very passionate about what she believes in."

"Which just means that she's stubborn."

"Hm, must be hereditary." Dumbledore said in mock thoughtfulness.

Severus glared severely back at him back at him. "That's not funny, Albus."

Dumbledore managed to maintain a straight face but his eyes twinkled in mirth as he rose an eyebrow at his sullen colleague. "Who's laughing?"

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**A/N: There, I promised angst and arguments and though I may be as late as Royal Mail, I do, eventually, deliver. So, the next update will be the last of this fanfiction. I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you'll review, as your comments have truly been of an enormous help in writing my first fanfiction. Thank you.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Hi everyone, I just want to thank everyone for being so amazing and reading my whole story and I really hope you enjoy the final chapter of A Truth Best Left Unsaid. Happy reading...**

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The Entrance Hall at Hogwarts was crowded and buzzing with the noise of excited students, impatient to start their summer. They were supposed to be waiting outside for the carriages that would transport them to Hogsmeade Station, but, in typical British fashion, the heavens had opened and the students had been herded inside to avoid the unseasonal downpour. Many of the students were weaving and pushing their way closer to the ornate front doors, keen to be on the first available carriages, but Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were content to hang back, confident that the train wouldn't leave without them and happier chatting amongst themselves.

"My father and I are spending the summer in Sweden. Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are native there." Luna said dreamily.

The boys exchanged a few glances but silently came to the consensus that life was be better when they just didn't question their whimsical friend.

"What about you, Hermione? Got any big plans for the summer?" Neville's inquiry snapped Hermione's attention back to the conversation.

She'd been partly paying attention to her friends' dialogue and had managed to nod and laugh at the appropriate points. But the other half of her had been lost in her own soliloquy about all that had happened to her this year and how much she wanted to move on from it all. Truthfully, Hermione was just tired. Tired of arguing; tired of fighting; tired of keeping secrets.

She focussed back on her friends and answered Neville. "Umm, nothing big planned. I'll probably just –"

"Miss Granger," She was interrupted by a painfully familiar voice behind her. "A word."

She turned and saw the sour looking Potions Professor looming a short distance away from her, his face sombre and his arms crossed defensively across his chest.

"We're waiting for carriages, Professor." Hermione replied, her voice quiet and polite, despite her obvious reluctance.

"I won't keep you long." Snape promised sedately.

Hermione opened her mouth to make another objection but Severus cut her off, murmuring so quietly that only Hermione and those friends standing closest could hear. "Please."

Hermione closed her mouth, his last request too sincere, too desperate, for her to deny him. She gave a small, quick nod and waited for him to lead the way. Severus, seeing her agreement, turned sharply and began walking down the corridor, away from the Entrance Hall, breathing a heavy sigh of relief as he went.

He never looked back, certain that she was still following him, and only stopped once he had found a quiet alcove a good distance from the raucous student body. Hermione followed him silently to the abandoned space but, as soon as they had stopped, she cut him off before he had a chance to speak.

"I don't want to argue anymore." She said firmly, though her voice was soft. She mirrored his stance, subconsciously crossing her own arms and looking seriously into his dark eyes.

Severus nodded. "Nor do I. I just wanted to discuss something with you privately." He reached into his robes and pulled out a small piece of folded parchment which he held out to her. She took it with a frown of confusion until the Professor explained. "It's my address." He said cautiously, trying to gauge her reaction. "I'd like for us to keep correspondence this summer. Perhaps try and get to know one another a bit better." He offered feeling rather awkward.

Hermione's eyebrow rose slightly but she said nothing so Severus continued. "It will be safer to send our letters using Muggle post. It's slower, but much less likely to be tracked or intercepted. I live in a Muggle area so I shouldn't have any trouble receiving your letters."

Hermione nodded slowly, showing her understanding, but remained silent, not taking her eyes off the piece of parchment in her hands. After a few more moments of awkwardness she looked up and spoke serenely, "Was that all?" She said asked, indicating the address in her hands.

"No." Severus bit out, annoyed at her calm and cold exterior. He glared down at her for a few moments before he cracked, dragging his hand down his face as a mark of his surrender. "Please Hermione, don't freeze me out. I really am trying here. This is all so new to me, and I'm honestly doing the best that I can. I just want the opportunity to be a proper father to you. Please give me that chance."

Hermione looked appraisingly into his face. "I don't trust you." Severus blinked in surprise. "I don't mean that I think you're on _their_ side, I know you're loyal to the light." She said in hushed tones. "What I mean is that I don't trust you not to abuse that position of authority. I don't trust that you'll let me do what I believe is right." She paused, her eyes welling as she admitted her deepest fears. "I don't trust that I won't end up getting hurt if I do put my faith in you."

Severus' expression looked pained in response to her admission. "I don't know what I can say to make you trust that I won't hurt you."

Hermione shrugged, saying bluntly, "There's nothing you can say."

His shoulders slumped in defeat. "You should get back to your friends; you don't want to miss the carriages." He said quietly.

Hermione nodded and turned to leave, but she stopped when he spoke again. "Hermione, I know there's nothing I can say, but I will be there for you, always. I won't give up on us."

She didn't have to say anything. Severus knew that she had said everything that she felt and he had too, so he turned away and walked towards the dungeons without looking back.

Hermione walked in the opposite direction, back towards the castle entrance. When she got to the Entrance Hall, there were only a few students left milling around and the grand double doors had been thrown open allowing a hazy sunlight to stream into the shadows of the castle. As her eyes adjusted to the change in light, she saw Harry's form coming back through the open doors.

"Hermione, there you are. The rain stopped so everyone went outside to wait. We've saved a carriage; the others are waiting for us now."

"Great, thanks Harry." Hermione said with a small but genuine smile.

They walked into the sunlight together and Hermione felt the warmth of it on her skin. The wet surfaces, caused by the previous rain, now glistened in the welcome sunshine and Harry and Hermione both came to a natural stop as they surveyed the vast grounds of Hogwarts all around them.

Hermione looked around her and thought how heartbreakingly beautiful it was; the life of Hogwarts. The things that the castle had lived through; the stories it held, the people it had inspired, the pure joy and the true sorrow it must have witnessed. Hogwarts was about so much more than one person; it was greater even than its four founders, it was a castle built with the lives of every person who walked its halls.

Hermione felt Harry place his arm around her shoulders. "You ok, Hermione?" He asked, kindly.

"Yeah," She said with a smile. "I'll be fine."

And for once, she really, truly, meant it.

**The End.**

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**AN: And that, my friends, is the little bit sad, little bit happy, bitter sweet conclusion to my first ever FanFiction. But, never fear, for a sequel is in the works that will give the true ending to Hermione and Severus' story. I'm going to talk a bit more about that in a separate update tomorrow, that will also include some other notes and acknowledgements for the story. Feel free to skip it if you don't care what I have to say, but if you are interested in finding out a bit more about my ideas for the sequel and my future writing plans then it while be worth your while.**

**The only other thing I have to say is a huge thank you to you for reading and reviewing, your comments have been so encouraging and inspiring so thank you. Please do leave a review, either on this chapter or the story as a whole, I would greatly appreciate hearing what you think. **

**Thanks for reading. x**


	21. A message from the author:

Hi everyone,

Thanks

The first thing I have to say is a massive thank you for reading my fanfiction, especially if you followed or favourited the story. Thank you so much to all my reviewers, you've all been so nice! A particular thank you to a few frequent reviewers who stood out: Amarenima Redwood, Kermit 304, Alessandra. 12, viola1701e, Angel Girl5, Celtic-Redhead and I'm sure there are others that I've just forgotten to mention, but thank you anyway for always giving good/constructive/long reviews.

Translation

The next thing I have to mention is that a few weeks back the lovely Alessandra. 12 contacted me asking if she could translate ATBLU into Spanish, and she has been waiting patiently ever since for me to finally finish the story. So if you are Spanish speaking and would like to read the fiction again in your native language, look out for that in future.

Also, if anyone else wants to translate it into another language, let me know.

The Sequel

I promised you a sequel and I have no intentions of breaking that promise. I've already started some rough plans for what's going to happen and at the moment my intended title is: Unless You Trust Enough. It is possible that this will change so if you want to be sure that you'll know as soon as it comes out, follow me (Imagination94) or keep an eye on my profile page (which is currently completely void of any information, but it's on my to-do list).

My planned structure for the sequel is that it will follow their 6th year first and will then just do a few key scenes from the last book. It will make sense when you read it, promise!

I plan to start uploading stuff soon after Christmas and then will probably be updating once a week. I know this is generally slower than I've been updating for ATBLU but I start uni again in a few weeks and as a full-time student I will be expected to do some actual studying at some point!

Other Writing Plans

I also have another story idea planned which is based around a HP/SS mentor/friendship relationship, which I know is a frequently written genre but I plan to do it a little differently, so keep an eye out for that too.

That's all from me, if you have any questions or want to contact me for any other reason just send me a PM, I'm generally pretty good at replying promptly.

Thanks for reading,

Imagination94 x


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